Legal formalism masks the class rule behind supposedly impersonal law.

Evidence

The so-called rule of law, Neumann suggested, contained a deception, in its refusal to admit that behind the laws were always men, or more precisely, certain social groups. … But Hegel, who clearly perceived the purely formal-negative nature of liberty, has already warned of the consequences of discarding it. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 463

Categorization

• DEFINE: Neumann’s critique of the rule of law as ideological cover is a key conceptual move in Frankfurt legal theory.
• XREF: connects to: Believing abstract legal terms are natural kinds hides the choices behind their application. — Frederick Schauer, Formalism, 31; Literal application of legal rules sometimes produces absurd against-purpose outcomes — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 284; Formalism answers legal questions by pedigree, not by what works. — Richard A. Posner, What Has Pragmatism to Offer Law?, 90 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Formalism disguises the need for judicial choice by freezing rule meaning #corroborates (0.95) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 370
• Believing abstract legal terms are natural kinds hides the choices behind their application. #corroborates (0.90) — Frederick Schauer, Formalism, 31
• Ruling classes rule through class-neutral state structures, not in their own name. #expands (0.90) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 909
• Formalism answers legal questions by pedigree, not by what works. #corroborates (0.85) — Richard A. Posner, What Has Pragmatism to Offer Law?, 90
• Reductionist legal theories obscure the diverse functions of rules within a social system #corroborates (0.80) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 649
• Literal application of legal rules sometimes produces absurd against-purpose outcomes #exemplifies (0.75) — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 284
• Rules necessarily overreach their justifications because of their intrinsic generality #corroborates (0.75) — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 46