In aiming to remedy the contempt for law prominent in socialist writings, this book looks at the ideas of political thinkers on the left who dismiss those legal institutions which, in liberal capitalist societies, have ensured some minimum measure of justice in citizens' lives. Marxists in particular, according to the author, have tended to reduce law to a capitalist apparatus necessary to mediate conflict between egoist wills or social classes. The book argues against this doctrine by showing that however ideal a society socialists envisage, legal institutions would be necessary to adjudicate conflict between private and public interests. Each chapter takes up an issue in liberal jurisprudence to see how it would fare in a socialists' theory which takes a constructive approach to law. The rule of law, natural and legal rights, obligations and the sources of law are among the subjects covered. The book concludes that a socialist concept of law would enrich, not only debates about the nature of socialism, but also debates about community and justice which preoccupy ""mainstream"" political theory and jurisprudence.
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