One ideal for the common law is the standard of social congruence, that the body of the law should correspond to the body of legal rules that one would arrive at by giving appropriate weight to all appli- cable social propositions and making the best choices when such pro- positions collide. A second ideal is the standard of doctrinal stability. Often these two standards conflict. In different eras and in different bodies of law, different weights may be placed on each standard. Under classical contract law, relatively more weight was put on stability of doctrine than ...