A Social Contract: The Doctrine of Unconscionability and its Relation to Social Progress

The current structure of American contract law may limit the availability of adequate remedies for citizens within certain socioeconomic strata who, in the formation of a contract, often experience an asymmetry of information, financial resources, and lack what is broadly termed social capital. This paper further argues that this population might be better served by expanding how the court interprets and applies the doctrine of unconscionability through a reexamination of the foundational principles that led to its codification in the 1950s in the Uniform Commercial Code. Throughout this paper, I will also consider how several foundational principles of Catholic Social Teaching closely align with the foundational principles of American law and unconscionability, namely: solidarity, subsidiarity, a clarified accounting of freedom and equality, and, most importantly, the absolute dignity of the human person. By coming to a better understanding of these foundational principles shared across the American legal and Catholic intellectual traditions, we will be better suited to judge the appropriate application of the doctrine of unconscionability itself Applications are made to living wage and guaranteed basic income initiatives.