Legal Realism Regained: Saving Realism from Critical Acclaim

Legal Realism Regained presents a comparison between the legal realists, a group of pragmatic legal theorists from the 1920s and 1930s, and critical legal studies, a movement of postmodern legal theory during the end of the twentieth century. The book argues for a return to legal realism and the classical pragmatism of John Dewey and William James and for a rejection of the postmodern critique of critical legal studies. It discusses the two movements with respect to three topics: their view of history, their view of social science, and their view of language.

Rejecting the claim that critical legal studies can be seen as the heir of legal realism, Legal Realism Regained argues that, with respect to each of these three topics, the realists still present a stronger argument than their more radical descendants.

Author: Wouter De Been
Publisher: Stanford Law Books
Published: 02/13/2008
Pages: 264
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.08lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.24w x 0.82d
ISBN: 9780804756594

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 08/01/2008 pg. 210

About the Author
Wouter de Been works as a researcher for the Wiardi Beckman Foundation in Amsterdam, a research institution affiliated with the Dutch Labour Party.