Legal naturalism is a term coined by
Olufemi Taiwo to describe a current in the social philosophy of
Karl Marx
Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
which can be interpreted as one of
natural law
Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...
. Taiwo considered it the manifestation of
Natural Law
Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...
in a
dialectical materialist context. The concept recognizes the existence of legal priorities or principles, which form an intrinsic part of an economic system.
Taiwo distinguished legal naturalism from
Marxism
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
by faulting the latter's bifurcation of the canon between the economic "substructure" of a society and the humanitarian, moral, cultural "superstructure".
However, he acknowledged that legal naturalism is, ultimately, "a novel synthesis of the
Marxist theory
Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew f ...
with the natural law theory".
According to Taiwo, legal naturalism is both natural law and
positive law
Positive laws () are human-made laws that oblige or specify an action. Positive law also describes the establishment of specific rights for an individual or group. Etymologically, the name derives from the verb ''to posit''.
The concept of posit ...
, constituting a duality of legal existence.
The theory is distinctive from other theories under naturalism in the sense that it views natural law as part of social formation or
mode of production
In the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production (German: ''Produktionsweise'', "the way of producing") is a specific combination of the:
* Productive forces: these include human labour power and means of production (tools, ...
.
A related concept to legal naturalism is
iusnaturalism
Natural law (, ) is a philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts that certai ...
, which holds that the ideas of nature and divinity or reason validate natural and positive laws.
See also
*
Marxism
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
*
Legal positivism
In jurisprudence (also known as legal philosophy), legal positivism is the theory that the existence of the law and its content depend on social facts, such as acts of legislation, judicial decisions, and customs, rather than on morality. This con ...
*
Natural law
Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...
Books
*''Legal Naturalism: A Marxist Theory of Law'' (Olufemi Taiwo, Cornell University Press, 1996)
References
Naturalism (philosophy)
Philosophy of law
Marxist theory
{{law-philo-stub