TY  - BOOK
AU  - Taiwo,Olufemi
TI  - Legal naturalism: a Marxist theory of law 
SN  - 0801428513 (alk. paper : cloth)
AV  - K 460 T135l 1996
U1  - 340 
PY  - 1996///
CY  - Ithaca, N.Y.
PB  - Cornell University Press
KW  - Natural law
KW  - Law and socialism
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (p. [205]-210) and index; 1. The Foundation: Marx on Law and Laws -- 2. A Marxist Theory of Natural Law -- 3. Laying Down the Law: The Positivization of Natural Law -- 4. On the Autonomy of Law -- 5. Change and Continuity in Law -- 6. Should Law Wither Away?
N2  - Legal Naturalism advances a clear and convincing case that Marx's theory of law is a form of natural law jurisprudence. It explicates both Marx's writings and the idea of natural law, and makes a forceful contribution to current debates on the foundations of law. Olufemi Taiwo argues that embedded in the corpus of Marxist writing is a plausible, adequate, and coherent legal theory. In this sophisticated, well-written book, he describes Marx's general concept of law, which he calls "legal naturalism." For Marxism, natural law isn't a permanent verity; it refers to the basic law of a given epoch or social formation which is an essential aspect of its mode of production. Capitalist law is thus natural law in a capitalist society and is politically and morally progressive relative to the laws of preceding social formations; Taiwo emphasizes that these formations are dialectical or dynamic, not merely static, so that the law which is naturally appropriate to a capitalist economy will embody tensions and contradictions that replicate the underlying conflicts of that economy. In addition, he discusses the enactment and reform of "positive law" - law established by government institutions - in a Marxian framework
ER  -