Ideology in law: Gordon and 'what is liberal legalism?'

Social Constructivism

Claim is any human experience in the world presupposes some socially constructed background beliefs, and this background enables and shapes what we experience

Critical Legal Studies

Consider more complex political and social theories for the light they might be able to shed on the relationship between law and society Draws on social constructivism - the seemingly necessary character of some features of our society may be the product of ideology , rather than a necessity that we accept as 'the way things have to be'

Gordon's take on Liberal Legalism

Gordon means the mainstream, positivistic model of law which has this close connection with the premises and concerns of liberal political theory.

CLS v Dominant groups in society

Holds the law does contain ideas, often at a deep and hidden level, that reflect the interests of the dominant groups in society, and want to expose and critique them - challenging the mainstream claims of laws neutrality

CLS v ideology

Paradigms, categories, values and assumptions are *ideological* in the critical sense if they operate to sustain the relationships of domination or disguise or vindicate class interest Ideology contains internal contradictions which can be exploited by those who oppose the dominant ideology Is 'post-Marxist' or 'post-Structuralist' because it adopts a social theory which does not accept the reality of of compulsion by deep structures like the state of the economic base, and which explains the feeling of compulsion as the effect of reification, and he describes some of them in the article

Loose definition

Professors in law schools in the 60's described the law as a "neutrally benevolent technique" - an amalgam of doctrinal analysis and policy analysis Stresses neutrality and objectivity in the law

Liberal tradition

Stresses the importance of limiting the power of the state in the interests of safeguarding individual freedom. One of the ways this is done is by the rule of law.

CLS v Objectivity

What is 'objective' in the law is due to a large social component (the indeterminacy argument)