Economic Jurisprudence (original) (raw)

Abstract

Reflection on the relationship between law and economics has been a staple of English-speaking jurisprudential thought since the middle of the eighteenth century. Scottish enlightenment philosophers established that a nation’s economy and its legal system are intimately related. Adam Smith conceived of his theory of political economy as an essential part of his broader jurisprudential theory. Nineteenth century utilitarians refined the economic theory and the jurisprudence and explored the connections between them. By the end of the nineteenth century, economics had emerged as the progressive social science. Holmes spoke prophetically when he said that the lawyer “of the future [will be] […] the master of economics” (Holmes 1995, 3: 399; see above chap. 2, sec. 2.5.1). In the early decades of the twentieth century, progressive economists and legal scholars like Roscoe Pound roundly criticized the naïve assumptions of the United States courts that struck down legislation protecting workers as violations of a constitutional standard of substantive due process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of North Carolina, Caldwell Hall, 27599-3125, Chapel Hill North, Carolina, USA
    Prof. Gerald J. Postema

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  1. Prof. Gerald J. Postema
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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Postema, G.J. (2011). Economic Jurisprudence. In: A Treatise of Legal Philosophy and General Jurisprudence. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8960-1\_5

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