Free-market economic theory now functions as the logic of judicial reasoning

Evidence

Kuhner writes, “January 21, 2010, stands as the day that the Roberts Court solidified its commitment to defining democracy on the basis of a controversial form of economic theory.” And, “Two things stand out in the majority opinion: first, it espouses a dogmatic free market form of economic theory; and second, it is printed on the pages of a judicial opinion that authoritatively defines the terms of the First Amendment. This combination of capitalist ideology and case law makes up what I call neoliberal jurisprudence, the use of neoclassical economic theory as judicial reasoning.” — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 637

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the concept of ‘neoliberal jurisprudence’ — neoclassical economics used as constitutional reasoning.
• XREF: connects to: First Amendment jurisprudence has been used to advance a conservative-libertarian judicial agenda — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 350; Neoliberal law and economics replaced rule-of-law with economic reason for judges — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 158; Antitrust law’s presumptions cannot be isolated from prevailing economic theory — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1146 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Antitrust law’s presumptions cannot be isolated from prevailing economic theory #corroborates (0.90) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1146
• Neoliberalism economizes justice, sovereignty, and the rule of law #expands (0.85) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 32
• Rule of law in economics restricts the state to purely formal legislation #exemplifies (0.75) — Michel Foucault, The Birth of Biopolitics, 923
• Reductionist legal theories obscure the diverse functions of rules within a social system #qualifies (0.70) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 649