Whether it is Hobbes, Rawls, or Locke, their use of the social contract device goes beyond thought experiments it is an integral building block of their arguments. We use the expression social contract theory for a reason-to describe the reasoning operative within a particular conception of political society. And I remain unconvinced that the idea of social contract has always or even mostly functioned as a type of thought experiment. Thought experiments may indeed be occasionally helpful in illustrating particular points, but they are an inadequate basis for building theories of political order. While Forster rightly regards Rawlsian social contract theory as deeply flawed, he is willing to defend the concept of social contract as a useful thought experiment for thinking through the important issue of why we are obliged to obey our rulers. Let me begin with Forster’s qualified defense of the usefulness of the idea of social contract. Forster for his criticisms, and am grateful for this opportunity to respond to his most salient remarks. In a June 27 th article posted on the First Things website titled “ Taking Locke Seriously,” the Locke scholar Greg Forster takes issue with my recent Public Discourse critique of social contract theory and, more particularly, my interpretation of John Locke.
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