| Description |
Every society must address the problem of contract. The problem is in deciding to what extent and under which circumstances society will enforce the promises which individuals make with one another. Society's response to this problem is largely a product of the role which agreements and promises between individuals play in the social process. In the common law nations of England and the United States, the role of contract has become of central importance. Generally, this importance of contractual agreements between individuals is the result of the extensive economic markets and activities of modern society. As complex economic markets grew out of the feudal traditions of Europe, the role of individual agreements and promises gained in importance. The vehicle by which the state addressed itself to these agreements and brought them under its control, was through the development of the law of contract. As the modern law of contract began to take shape, the ideologies which were widely held at the time of its formation during the 18th and 19th centuries were blended into it. In addition, the law of contract was used as a means of affecting the distribution of wealth in society, so that the emerging interests of the early capitalists were fostered. |
