Bill Clinton's Contractarian World view: The Intellectual Origins and Public Face of the Clinton Philosophy

Abstract

Bill Clinton's worldview has a serious but still almost wholly unappreciated intellectual provenance, with deep ties to two strands of social contract theory and an informed sensitivity to historical development. Yet Clinton forcefully articulated this worldview to the public only sporadically. The complexity and obscurity of his governing philosophy prevented most observers from understanding it. Inconsistent public articulation kept those who understood it from taking it seriously. Both phenomena fueled the misconception that Clinton lacked a consistent public philosophy. Clinton's inconsistent articulation of his governing philosophy was not random, but strategic. He emphasized contractarian themes at particularly advantageous junctures and subordinated these themes when he thought they would prevent the achievement of his near-term objectives.