Campbell, Janet M. (1997) Is there a case for socialist jurisprudence? PhD thesis http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4247/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] IS THERE A CASE FOR SOCIALIST JURISPRUDENCE? By Janet M. Campbell Presented to the Department of Politics at the University of Glasgow on 1 September, 1997 for the degree of PhD ABSTRACT The field of socialist law generally has incorporated two paradigms of study. The first focuses on the former Soviet Union, China and other "communist" nations and analyses how legal systems have developed in these nations and why they differ from Western ones. The second rejects the classification of the former U.5.S.R. (China, etc.) as representatives of the socialism envisioned by Marx and Engels and concentrates on a Marxist exploration of legal phenomena in capitalism. The first approach ignores the divergence between the socialism expatiated upon by Marx and the socialism which was (and is) Ifunctioning in these nations; the second disregards the problem of a regulatory system in post-capitalist society. Arguments that do address the regulatory problem in socialism often call for a re-definition of law (usually rights-based) which embodies socialist principles. Such a demand, however, is in conflict with Marx's original position (one that was expanded by E.B. Pashukanis) that law will become unnecessary in such a society. The purpose of this thesis is to construct theoretically a regulatory system based on the writings of a selection of Marxist legal theorists (Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stuchka, Reisner and Pashukanis), ascertain whether such a system might be considered law, and determine whether or not there is a legitimate claim for a "socialist jurisprudence". Both theoretical constructs and historical examples are used during the course of discussion. In addressing the lacuna in the two paradigms of this field, the results of the thesis indicate that there is a viable alternative to law which does not ignore the regulatory needs of society and is compatible with the Marxist critique of the legal order. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................................ i -v INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1-23 The Need and Purpose ............................................................................................... 1-6 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 6-9 The Specificities .......................................................................................................... 9-20 Marx and Engels ................................................................................................ 9-12 The People's Courts ........................................................................................ 12-13 The Theorists ................................................................................................... 13-19 Theoretical Synthesis ..................................................................................... 19-20 Towards a Model. ............................................................................................ 21-21 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 21 The Goal. .................................................................................................................... 21-23 CHAPTER ONE-MARX AND ENGELS.................................................................... 24-59 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 24 The Basis .................................................................................................................... 25-43 Legal and economic relations in capitalism.............................................. 28-34 Legal and economic relations in socialism ............................................... 34-43 Further Clarifications .............................................................................................. 43-55 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 43-45 Human nature................................................................................................. 45-48 Freedom ............................................................................................................ 49-50 Authority .......................................................................................................... 50-51 Democracy ........................................................................................................ 51-55 Summary ................................................................................................................... 55-59 CHAPTER TWO-The People's Courts.................................................................. 60-111 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 60-65 Legal Concepts of Lenin....................................................................................... 65-71 Law in communism.................................................................................... 65-68 Conceptual foundations of law in the transition period .................... 68-71 The People's Courts.............................................................................................. 71-93 Structural reorganisation ........................................................................... 71-75 The operation of the early courts ............................................................. 75-83 Early decision-making ................................................................................ 83-88 Moves towards centralisation ................................................................... 88-90 Further centralisation: the N.E.P .............................................................. 90-93 Analysis ................................................................................................................. 93-111 Introduction .................................................................................................. 93-94 Economic conditions and legal relations ................................................ 94-96 Control over production .......................................................................... 96-100 The institutional nature of the People's Courts................................ 100-101 The role of force ....................................................................................... 101-105 Social vs political power......................................................................... 105-106 Theoretical implications ........................................................................ 106-108 A note on the People's Courts and the transition period ............... 108-111 CHAPTER THREE-THE THEORISTS ................................................................. 112-162 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 112-116 Stuchka................................................................................................................ 116-126 Summary ................................................................................................... 125-126 Pashukanis .................................................................................................................. 126-146 The general theory................................................................................... 127-129 Commodity fetishism and its social relations ................................... 129-132 The legal relation ..................................................................................... 132-133 Law as a resolution of conflicts ............................................................. 133-135 Law and the state ...................................................................................... 136-137 Equivalence and punishment.. ............................................................. 137-139 Law in socialism ....................................................................................... 139-141 Regulation in communism................................................................... 141-143 Morality...................................................................................................... 143-145 Summary ................................................................................................... 145-146 Reisner-An Anomaly ................................................................................... 146-151 Analysis ..............................................................................................................