Choosing versus having to be loyal

Abstract

The distinction between voluntary and law-based obligations is one of private law’s signature features. No less important is the distinction’s underlying normative question, namely, what obligations should be grounded in our choice and what obligations should arise by operation of law. The ambition of this Essay is to introduce a liberal-egalitarian framework—that of relating to each other as substantive equals—for both assessing and determining the nature of our private-law duties in the specific context of fiduciary duties of loyalty.