Liberal legal forms have progressive functions beyond serving capitalist calculation

Evidence

The generality of the law, the independence of judges, and the doctrine of the separation of powers, have, therefore, functions transcending the needs of competitive capitalism, since they secure personal liberty and personal equality. The generality of the law and the independence of judges veil the power of one stratum of society; they render exchange processes calculable and create also personal freedom and security for the poor. All three functions are significant and not only, as is maintained by the critics of liberalism, that of rendering economic processes calculable. We repeat, all three functions are realized in the period of competitive capitalism, but it is of importance to discriminate between them. If one does not draw these distinctions, and sees in the generality of law, nothing but a requirement of capitalist economy, then of course, one must infer with Carl Schmitt that the general law, the independence of judges, and the separation of powers, must be abolished when capitalism dies. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 933

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with strict Marxist critiques of liberal legalism as mere bourgeois superstructure; resonates with the Law Merchant’s functionalist legal analysis. — connects to: Liberal legal forms protect individual liberty beyond capitalist economic needs — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 248; Reductionist legal theories obscure the diverse functions of rules within a social system — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 649; Neumann tied legal theory to progressive social function under prevailing conditions — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 932 (+2 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: A dense, paradigm-shifting passage: liberal legal forms have a dual character — veiling class power while also securing real liberty for the poor — and collapsing them into pure capitalist instruments hands the game to Schmitt.

Broader Connections

• Reductionist legal theories obscure the diverse functions of rules within a social system #corroborates (0.82) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 649
• Neumann tied legal theory to progressive social function under prevailing conditions #corroborates (0.80) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 932
• Ideologically backward classes can still hold advanced practical functions #corroborates (0.75)
• Ordoliberalism inverted classical liberalism by making economic effectiveness depend on political and legal systems #complicates (0.70) — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 362