Can you explain how in a free market (like libertarian idealists dream of) a fair social contract is possible?

[Liberal Avenger !]

Do these people need to step a second into REALITY to see how absurd this thinking is?

People with money end up ruling everybody else.

[Pfo]

Two parties agree to a contract and sign it. The government enforces contract law, should either side breach the contract. That was easy.

[Shovel Ready]

If, by fair social contract, you mean to ask how you get freebies while you sit on your azz, then "a fair social contract" is not possible. This is what liberals hate: they have to get up and do some work. In a free market, nobody "rules" anybody. If you have something to sell, and someone wants to buy it, then you can do a transaction. If you want to buy something that someone else wants to sell, you can do a transaction. It is fairly straightforward.

[Thomas D]

No, you are wrong. It is a very easy concept, people enter into a contract and the Government is there for contract enforcement which they happen to not be doing now.

[Primo]

Yes. Corporations wouldnt be allowed to screw the people.

[Lady Laissez Faire]

I'm confused as to why you think business owners are immoral, anti-social enigmas??
Business owners who are successful, have employees with decent salaries and high morale. You can't keep good employees by treating them poorly, and you won't stay in business for very long without good employees.
The free market allows for bad business owners to fail.....which is NOT what we have right now.

[RitchWilliams]

I wipe my butt with your 'fair social contract'. There is nothing more fair than the free market where a person is compensated to the value of their worth to the market. No one. Not a single, solitary person is holding anyone in the U.S. back from achieving all that is within their dream. To listen to folks like you would be to think we're living in feudal Europe or Dickensian England. We're not. And in America we never have.

What's right about a guy who's not worth the stings on his shoes getting paid even the minimum wage. Even if he worked for nothing, he would still cost me to employ him for the time, effort and materials I'd have to invest in him just to get something out of him.

As to the rest of your little socialistic whine. I'm calling BS. Go pound sand.

[Nicholas J]

Capitalism is not perpetual. Without oversight and regulations especially anti trust. Someone or some entity will win through dominance. I believe exactly that happened in the 30's. And ever since has been a battle to restore fairness in a true market.

Unfortunately its a losing battle the Democrats as occasional allies and Republicans as obvious wolves in sheep clothing.

[Danny]

In a free market, everyone has a chance to succeed. You can either start your own business, or work for someone else, or choose to do nothing and starve. Sounds fair to me.

[ConcernedCitizen]

Fairness and freedom have nothing to do with it as long as the Republicans subsidize big business to the point where major corporations like GE pay no taxes at all while middle class workers are losing their hard-earned retirement benefits. That's not a free market; it's corporate welfare. If this continues, there will be only two classes, the ultra-rich and the poor. We need to vote the crooks out ASAP before we're forced to fight a new revolutionary war.