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Partnership, Democracy, And Self-Rule In Jewish Law, Daniel J.H. Greenwood

Touro Law Review

Liberal political theory has long relied on a metaphor of contract: autonomous adults coming together to agree, by unanimous consent, on the basic structure of a just society. But contract is a strange metaphor with which to explain society. Contract law is based on a morality of strangers acting at arms-length. In contrast, decent societies and the governments they set for themselves must be based on a commitment of mutual responsibility. What makes us fellow citizens—fellows of any variety—is accepting that we are all in this together. Jewish legal and midrashic traditions can be a useful corrective to the atomistic …