The Concept of Agreement

Randall Holcombe

Chapter 10 in The Economic Foundations of Government, 1994, pp 155-179 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The economic model of government that has been developed throughout the previous nine chapters is built on a foundation of agreement and exchange. The constitutional rules which form the basis of government are a product of an agreement to exchange protection for tribute, and constitutional rules themselves are the agreed-upon principles that define the long-term relationship between a government and its citizens. As developed in the economic model of government, this agreement can be coercive in the sense that citizens might be threatened with harm if they do not go along with the government’s offer to exchange protection for tribute. Citizens are better off, nonetheless, agreeing to the constitution rather than being left unprotected in a state of anarchy.

Keywords: Social Contract; Constitutional Rule; Normative Criterion; Economic Foundation; Social Contract Theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1994
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-13230-0_10

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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-13230-0_10

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