The philosophy of law By Raymond Wacks

The philosophy of law By Raymond Wacks

                ..Since the law is a vehicle of class oppression, it is unnecessary in a classless society.

Law, whether a crucial instrument, or an unnecessary tool, whether detached from morals or not, has been one of the most discussed topics along with politics and technology. From the natural law of seen in ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ to the law as seen under the lens of deconstruction of  Jacques Derrida’s postmodernist theory, 20^th century has seen it all.

This introductory text by Raymond Wacks does not either aspire to or attempt to cover in exhaustive detail what law is or what its purpose is, but it succeeds in providing simple explanations of topics such as natural law, legal positivism, rights , critical legal theory etc. that are key to understanding other more complex and specific topics and cases.

I was able to understand most of the text without the need of any external resource. However, some knowledge of some of the works of philosophers such as Hume, Hobbes, Marx and Derrida can be quite helpful in getting even more from this text.

I recommend this text to all those who want to start reading law, although my recommendation must be taken with a pinch of salt since this is my foray into philosophy of law.