In Solon Papageorgiou's framework, there are no contracts in the conventional, legal, binding sense.
🧾 Why No Contracts?
Traditional contracts rely on:
Legal enforcement
Property ownership
Individual liability
State-sanctioned punishment if terms are broken
Solon’s model removes all of these pillars by replacing coercive or transactional mechanisms with relational, participatory, and trust-based processes.
🤝 What Replaces Contracts?
Mutual Commitments Made in Community Circles
Agreements are made in the presence of others, with shared understanding.
They are relational, transparent, and fluid, not fixed in ink.
Honor and Care-Based Accountability
People are encouraged to follow through because they care about the community, not fear legal consequences.
If expectations break down, the emphasis is on dialogue, mediation, and repair—not punishment.
Open Agreements Documented Collectively
Sometimes agreements (e.g., collaborative projects) are informally documented in shared logs or visual boards—not as legal proof, but for clarity and memory.
These may be drawn, written, or symbolically represented.
Adaptive and Ongoing Consent
Unlike static contracts, agreements evolve. If someone wants to withdraw or shift focus, they can bring that to a feedback space without guilt or breach.
🧪 Real-Life Example (Fictionalized)
A potter and a woodworker decide to co-create a line of handcrafted tea sets.
Instead of a contract:
They discuss the idea in a craft circle.
They agree openly on what they’ll contribute and how to resolve creative disputes.
Their commitment is spoken, not signed.
If one needs to pause or step back, they discuss it without fear of being sued or penalized.
🧠Key Principle:
In Solon’s framework, social coherence arises from trust and care, not contracts and courts.
This radical departure requires deep cultural shifts in how people relate, make promises, and handle conflict—but it also opens the way for deep mutuality rarely found in contract-driven societies.
