The rational and the fair (Bilateral exchange, multilateral contexts, social contract)

The motive of fairness has a basis in nature, I argue, because a commitment to fairmindedness facilitates the coordination of bilateral exchanges amon g human beings. I further explain why this commitment to fairness should be expected to spillover from bilateral agreements into multilateral contexts , including the social contract. My arguments lend support to the kind of c ontractarian enterprise favored by Rawls and Scanlon, while suggesting prob lems for Gauthier's view.