Assignment for Wed 4/12: intro. and sects. I A-B, pp. 472-483

Assignment for Fri 4/14: sects. I C-G, pp. 483-497

We will be reading only the introduction and section I of this paper. In this part of the paper, Kronman considers requirements for contracts to be voluntary agreements.

• On Wed we will look at Kronman’s presentation of this general issue in the introduction and sections I A and B. As you read the description of what he calls “advantage-taking,” think how you would distinguish legitimate from illegitimate instances of it.

• On Fri, we will look at the particular approach to distinguishing legitimate instances of advantage-taking that Kronman presents in the remainder of section I. Think how well this approach, which he calls “paretianism,” captures your own views of when advantage-taking is legitimate.

We will not discuss section II of the the paper (in which Kronman focuses on issues concerning taxation) because it is less concerned with specifically legal concepts, but you may be interested in reading it on your own. Even without reading the whole of it, you can see Kronman’s final comments on the general issues he raises in the introduction by reading his two-paragraph conclusion on pp. 510-511.