The theory we
need is Contractarianism. The general
idea of this theory is that the
principles of morality are (or should
be) those principles for directing
everyone's conduct which it is
reasonable for everyone to accept. They
are the rules that everyone has
good reason for wanting everyone to act
on, and thus to internalize in himself
or herself, and thus to reinforce in the
case of everyone....
Without resort to
any obfuscating intuitions, of
"self-evident rights" and the like, the
contractarian view offers an
intelligible account both of why it is
rational to want a morality and of what,
broadly speaking, the essentials of that
morality must consist in: namely, those
general rules that are universally
advantageous to rational agents....
Our question is
whether contractarianism would
underwrite libertarianism as so
characterized. It is a long way to the
end of arriving at true clarity on this
matter, but we must make a start. The
most important thing to emphasize about
the contractarian approach is that it
hopes to generate moral principles
for societies out of the nonmoral
values of individuals. That is
what is fundamental, and all problems of
interpretation should be viewed in the
light of this....What is needed is to
show that the concern we must by nature
have with our own values, virtually
whatever they may be, is such as to
underwrite a social principle of
allowing each to pursue that person's
possibly very different ones -- and that
no other moral principles can take
precedence to this one. [The
Libertarian Idea, p. 131, 148,
166]