The social contract idea persists despite centuries of influential critique.

Evidence

The idea of the social contract has often been subjected to harsh criticism, as, for example, by Hume (1985 [1739–40], 465–87) in his derisive essay on the “original contract” (also see Hardin 1999d, chapter 3). Despite the brilliance of various rejections of the idea of the social contract, however, that idea still today drives some of the most influential works in political thought. For example, on his own account it drives John Rawls (1971, 10–11, 14–15) in his A Theory of Justice, easily the most important work in political theory in the twentieth century. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 486

Categorization

• XREF: The persistence of contract theory despite its failures parallels how Hardin’s own book argues trust persists despite its fragility — both ideal constructs resist empirical demolition. — connects to: Leftist critique presupposes a social contract capital never accepted. — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 58; An implanted idea persists unchanged even after its context is restored. — Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life: Writings on…, 519