Author(s)

Pablo Biondi

Basic Disciplines Department, Law College of São Bernardo do Campo, São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.

The current article presents a critique of Max Weber’s sociology of law, specifically in what concerns the concept of modern law. It is argued, as the core of the critical appraisal, that Weberian notion of modern law is restricted to 19^th century formalist approaches. There is a clear contrast between Weber’s theoretical proposal and the anti-formalist tendency that emerged as hegemonic in the first decades of the 20^th century. If we consider the emerging branches of law at the period, such as labor law, it is possible to note that legal systems were increasingly open to contents that proved to be incompatible with a formal legal rationality. In order to correctly understand labor law’s legality, it is necessary to adopt the perspective of legal subjectivity, a Marxist analysis provided by Evgeny Pashukanis. Such approach is able to explain the nature of both classic private law (praised by legal formalism) and labor law (endorsed by anti-formalist legal thinking).

Weber, Modern Law, Legal Formalism, Labor Law, Marxist Critique of Law

Biondi, P. (2024). Weber’s Concept of Modern Law and Labor Law: A Critical View. Beijing Law Review, 15, 1248-1267. doi: 10.4236/blr.2024.153075.