Social Contract as Domination

Social contract theory aimed to provide the philosophical vindication of a democratic, just, and liberal society that utilitarianism had aspired to. However, one important strand of normative criticism is that, in effect, contract theory underwrites domination rather than emancipation, in respect of race and gender. A proper understanding of contract theory can admit that, in empirical terms, contracts can be partial rather than general, underwriting the domination of particular social groups. However, insofar as the argument relies upon a distinction between empirical and normative contracts, it relied upon assumptions that are auxiliary to the core of contract theory. The argument from the sexual contract is more radical, not least because it claims that the effect of contract theory is to distort a truthful understanding of human relations. However, it has to assume that the contract theorist is committed to libertarianism and it neglects the extent to which domination has to be sustained by force rather than the free assent that contract theory requires.

The Role of Task-Oriented Versus Relationship-Oriented Leadership on Normative Contract and Group Performance

In this paper we examine how groups develop normative contracts based on beliefs about the obligations other members of the group must fulfil in order to achieve group goals. The role played by perceived leadership – task- or relationship-oriented – was analyzed in relation to the development of relational normative contract and group performance. The study sample comprised 72 participants (24 groups of 3 members). A member of each team received training to be a group leader (task- or relationship-oriented leader). All groups worked on a simulation program: a complex decision-making managerial task. Group regulatory variables and group processes were evaluated during the simulation. Results showed that task-oriented leaders effected higher group efficacy and positivism among members of the group. In contrast, relationship-oriented leaders effected greater cohesion between the group's members. The final group performance is explained from the perspective of group efficacy and the relational normative contract.