From Contract to Status The Story of Contract Law and Inequality

Our system of contract law depends for its legitimacy on the idea that contract law only concerns private agreements between private parties and nothing else. As such, conventional wisdom holds that contract law is a private law subject, not a public law subject. This book challenges that view. It makes the case that contract law is, in fact, a matter of public law. It makes two central arguments. First, contract law is public law because the role of the State in the field of public law is neither neutral nor minimal. Second, contract law is public law because, as a direct result of the way contract law operates in practice, it helps to create and perpetuate inequality in society. The book therefore argues that because contract law is actually public law, it must be analysed in terms of equality, not individualism and autonomy. Only in so doing can contract law be reimagined in ways that not only reflect reality but also help us to live up to our own aspirations individually and collectively. This work helps us to rethink the nature of contract law and to redraw the map of law more generally.

Danielle Kie Hart is Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School, USA. Professor Hart's research has covered a wide range of topics, from procedural reform and the strategic uses of procedure to same-sex marriage. Her current research focuses on contract law-its politics, distributive effects and social consequences. She has published widely on these and related areas. She has served as a member and past Chair of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Gay and Lesbian Legal Issues and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Contracts. Prior to entering academia, she practiced in the areas of contracts, real property, insurance, construction, and bankruptcy.