From Rousseau to Rawls, Western social theory has often resorted to the idea of hypothetical "social contracts" as a justification for the establishment of governments and coercive legal systems. The philosopher, Michel Serres, has challenged this approach in an interesting book called "The Natural Contract" (published in French in 1990, translated into English in 1995).

This presentation considers Serres' theoretical argument for a "natural contract" and some objections to it. Professor Orts will then discuss what might be needed to translate the idea of "environmental contracts" into practice for government, business, and nonprofit organizations. Experiments and possible new directions in environmental regulation in both Europe and the United States will also be considered.