The Rise and Fall of Freedom of Contract

Description

This book is an attempt to trace the history of one of the great intellectual movements of modern times. The major part concentrates on England between 1770 and 1970, but the origins of freedom of contract are searched for in earlier centuries. Throughout the 19th century, freedom of contract was an ideology whose influence extended into politics, economics, and morality, as well as the law. While this book is written from the standpoint of a lawyer, a serious attempt is made to probe these additional dimensions, and in particular to study the inter-relations between them. It is suggested that, in the early 19th century, lawyers and judges were particularly receptive to influences from outside the law — especially political economy — but that by the middle of the century the lawyers had cut themselves off from these external influences. The book takes full account of the work in Parliament, as well as of the judges, and adds a contribution to recent historical research, suggesting that Parliament constantly departed from laissez-faire policies, particularly after 1830. 1. Introduction.pdf......Page 9 2. The Condition of England in 1770 - The Politial Background.pdf......Page 16 3. The Intellectual Background in 1770 - Part 1 - The Scope of Contractual Ideas.pdf......Page 41 4. The Intellectual Background in 1770 - Part 2 - The Relics of Medieval Thought.pdf......Page 66 5. The Legal background in 1770 - Parliament, the Courts, and Law-Making.pdf......Page 96 6. Contract Law and Theory in 1770 - Part 1 - Promises, Consideration, and Evidence.pdf......Page 144 7. Contract Law and Theory in 1770 - Part 2 - The Executory Contract and the Role of Contract Law.pdf......Page 199 8. The Condition of England, 1770–1870 - Change.pdf......Page 222 9. The Role of Government, 1770–1870 - The Machinery of Government.pdf......Page 241 10. The Role of the Individual, 1770–1870 - Individualism.pdf......Page 259 11. The Intellectual Background, 1770–1870 - Part 1 - Political Economy.pdf......Page 295 12. The Intellectual Background, 1770–1870 - Part 2 - Bentham, Utilitarianism, and Freedom of Contract.pdf......Page 327 13. The Legal Background, 1770–1870 - Lawyers and the Courts.pdf......Page 362 14. Freedom of Contract in the Courts, 1770–1870 - Part 1 - Contract Law and the Free Market.pdf......Page 401 15. Freedom of Contract in the Courts, 1770–1870 - Part 2 - The Decline of Reliance and Benefit.pdf......Page 458 16. Freedom of Contract in Parliament, 1770–1870 - The Parliamentary Background.pdf......Page 509 17. The Condition of England, 1870–1970.pdf......Page 572 18. The Intellectual Background, 1870–1970 - Part 1 - The New Economics.pdf......Page 603 19. The Intellectual Background, 1870–1970 - Part 2 - Individualism and the New Social Order.pdf......Page 628 20. The Legal Background, 1870–1970 - The Separation of Law & Policy.pdf......Page 661 21. The Decline of Freedom of Contract, 1870–1970 - The Settling of Classical Contract Theory.pdf......Page 682 22. The Wheel Come Full Circule - The Decline of Contract.pdf......Page 717 23. Index.pdf......Page 782