  Hidden variables theories for quantum mechanics are usually assumed to
satisfy the KS condition. The Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem then shows that these
theories are necessarily contextual. But the KS condition can be criticized
from an operational viewpoint, which suggests that a weaker condition (MGP)
should be adopted in place of it. This leads one to introduce a class of hidden
parameters theories in which contextuality can, in principle, be avoided, since
the proofs of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem break down. A simple model
recently provided by the author for an objective interpretation of quantum
mechanics can be looked at as a noncontextual hidden parameters theory, which
shows that such theories actually exist.
