Abstract

This chapter focuses on the moral legitimacy of corporations as a key element of a sustainable economy. In particular, the chapter explores the prospects of a liberal principle of corporate legitimacy. The liberal principle for corporate legitimacy draws upon Rawls’s liberal principle of political legitimacy as stated in Political Liberalism. The principle is justified by a hypothetical social-contract argument at the level of the firm. The main contention of the chapter is that, by means of a disciplined use of the method of the social contract, philosophical thought can contribute normative direction for necessary corporate change within the context of well-functioning, well-regulated and sustainable markets.