This web of contracts – often taken for granted in mainstream economics, to the extent that it becomes almost invisible – embodies the formal and informal rules embedded in the market system that shape and constrain individual and social behavior. They form the fabric of all human institutions.
主流经济学家往往将合约网络系统视作理所当然的，以至于几乎对其视而不见。合约网络界定了市场体系内的正式与非正式规则，同时塑造并约束了个人及社会行为。因此，可以说合约网络是构造人类所有制度的基础材料。