Apply the following material to the next three questions.
Some view consideration as a technicality that allows people to make promises and then back out of them. Perhaps all promises should be enforced. In Japan, for example, promises to give gifts are enforceable without consideration. Footnote
In the United States, if I promise to give you a gift merely because I feel like being nice, I can freely change my mind as far as contract law is concerned. A court will not make me follow through because there is no consideration.
In Japan, I would be obligated to buy the gift if all other elements of a contract were present-an offer, an acceptance, and so forth.
Some argue that consideration in U.S. law is a doctrine left over from centuries long past, that it lacks any reasonable modern purpose, and that it should be abolished.
- Do you agree with this statement: "A person should always keep his or her word."
- When it comes to giving gifts, which is better-the Japanese or American rule?
Are there any specific types of agreements (perhaps high-value, long-term, extremely time-consuming ones) that should definitely require consideration?