Description
LEGALISM
Book Summary
In Legalism, Judith Shklar, one of the most lucid political thinkers of the 20th century, subjects the tendency to turn law into an absolute arbiter of social and political conflicts to a profound critique. The work warns of the dangers of a legal fetishism that, by placing the law above democratic debate, can generate new forms of injustice. Through an incisive analysis, Shklar defends the need to recognize the political and contingent nature of law to strengthen, rather than weaken, liberal democracies. This edition includes a prologue by philosopher Pau Luque that enriches the reading of a fundamental and still controversial text.
What is it about?
In Legalism, Judith Shklar addresses the complex relationship between law and politics in democratic societies. The author questions the idea that courts and the legal system can definitively and neutrally resolve the thorniest political issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, or independence movements. Shklar argues that this "legalism"—the belief in law as a superior and unappealable authority—is itself a political ideology that, by attempting to depoliticize conflict, can hide power relations and generate its own form of arbitrariness. The work is a call to recognize that law is a product of politics and that, to preserve freedom, it is necessary to maintain an open democratic debate without delegating the ultimate responsibility for collective decisions to judges.
Main Topics
- Critique of legal fetishism and the ideology of legalism.
- The intrinsic relationship between law, politics, and power in liberal democracies.
- The limits of judicial power to resolve ideological and moral conflicts.
- Defense of a democratic liberalism that does not take refuge in the law to avoid public debate.
- Analysis of justice and injustice beyond formal legal norms.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at readers interested in political theory, legal philosophy, and democratic thought. It will be of special value to students and professionals of law, political science, and philosophy, as well as to anyone seeking to critically understand the role of courts and the law in contemporary public debates. It is an essential read for those who wish to go beyond simplistic solutions and explore the tensions inherent in liberal democracy.
What this book offers
- A critical and lucid perspective on the dangers of judicializing politics.
- Conceptual tools to analyze law as a political phenomenon and not as an absolute truth.
- A reasoned defense of liberal democracy that is not afraid to point out its own contradictions.
- Keys to understanding current debates on judicial independence, civil rights, and popular sovereignty.
- A classic text of 20th-century political thought, contextualized with a prologue that updates its relevance.
Technical Data
- Author: SHKLAR, JUDITH
- Publisher: CLAVE INTELECTUAL
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: LITERARY ESSAYS, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, LAW AND SOCIETY, INTERNATIONAL LAW
- Collection: CLAVE INTELECTUAL
- Publication Date: November 2021
- Number of pages: 352
- Weight: 704 g
Editorial Review
Legalism is an uncomfortable and necessary work that challenges the dogmas of dominant legal thought. Judith Shklar offers a rigorous and accessible analysis that invites a rethinking of the role of law in a democratic society. Her critique of legalism is not an attack on the law, but a warning against its absolutization. For the modern reader, the book provides a solid intellectual framework to address the political dilemmas of our time with greater depth, from the crisis of representation to the limits of judicial activism. A reading that, despite the years that have passed since its original publication, maintains remarkable relevance and critical power.