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A Limited Leviathan
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The state social contract relationship between rulers and the ruled in civil society is fruitfully understood as a governing convention. This relationship is modeled with an indefinitely repeated Humean Sovereignty game, where subjects and their sovereign maintain a governing convention by respectively obeying and providing adequate government. The ruled and their rulers maintain an implicit contract that is self-enforcing rather than an explicit contract requiring third-party enforcement. This model is motivated by the Trust problem in game theory and dynamic programming models of employment search. The governing convention idea has roots in Hume’s discussions of government. The closely allied Leadership Selection problem has roots in Hobbes’ account of commonwealth by institution. Hobbes’ original analysis fails, but his general strategy of justifying government by identifying an isomorphism between an actual regime and the regime of hypothetical choice motivates justifying democratic government via the salience of a democratic leadership convention.
Title: A Limited Leviathan
Description:
The state social contract relationship between rulers and the ruled in civil society is fruitfully understood as a governing convention.
This relationship is modeled with an indefinitely repeated Humean Sovereignty game, where subjects and their sovereign maintain a governing convention by respectively obeying and providing adequate government.
The ruled and their rulers maintain an implicit contract that is self-enforcing rather than an explicit contract requiring third-party enforcement.
This model is motivated by the Trust problem in game theory and dynamic programming models of employment search.
The governing convention idea has roots in Hume’s discussions of government.
The closely allied Leadership Selection problem has roots in Hobbes’ account of commonwealth by institution.
Hobbes’ original analysis fails, but his general strategy of justifying government by identifying an isomorphism between an actual regime and the regime of hypothetical choice motivates justifying democratic government via the salience of a democratic leadership convention.
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