The term ‘social contract’ is increasingly present in public and corporate governance discourse relative to social policy, sustainability goals and human rights. For instance, to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) , the call is made for a ‘new social contract’. Are these references to the social contract mere slogans or do they express a new ideal and perspective on governance, whether public or corporate? How to qualify this discourse in light of the classic social contract theory and human rights? This contribution compares the calls for a ‘new social contract’ to the main positions in social contract theory and concludes that these calls express a normative ideal featuring a morality of reciprocity, shared responsibilities and recognition. Other than in some social contract theories, human rights are a core element of this call for a social contract. And while the classic social contract is based on the idea of a bargain , the modern social contract discourse's valuation of recognition and reciprocity reflects values inherent to the notion of the giftand the social contract of hospitality . However, a short analysis of the morality of hospitality shows its potential vulnerability for parasitism. Further research is therefore needed to assess the meaning of this vulnerability for modern social contract discourse in public and private governance.