Oman on Smith on “Contract Theory”

Steven A. Smith’s book Contract Theory is one of the most interesting recent works on contracts. In an upcoming review in the Michigan Law Review, available on SSRN, Nate Oman takes a respectful but critical look at Smith’s sustained defense of the promissory basis of contract law.  The abstract:

The contemporary philosophy of contract law must reconcile apparently incommensurable theories of contractual obligation, namely those based on moral rights and those based on economic efficiency. In his recent book, Contract Theory, Stephen Smith seeks to solve this problem by arguing that economic theories fail to explain contract law while rights-based theories adequately account for the law. His argument, however, rests on a misunderstanding of economic and legal reasoning, and results in implausible claims about the contours of contract law. Rather than dismissing one or the other of these two approaches, philosophers of contract law should look for ways of providing a principled integration of them. This paper argues that the Rawlsian notion of the priority of liberty provides one path toward such a principled integration.

Oman also has his own fine law blog, Tutissima Cassis (“Strongest Armor”).