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).
KeywordsWeberModern LawLegal FormalismLabor LawMarxist Critique of Law
Arthur, C. (2003). Editor’s Introduction. In E. Pashukanis (Ed.), The General Theory of Law and M arxism (195 p). Transaction Publishers.
Atienza, M. (2014). O S entido do Direito. Escolar Press.
Barbagelata, H. (1996). O particu larismo do direito do trabalho. LTr Press.
Bendix, R. (1960). Max Webe r: An Intellectual Portrait. Doubleday Press.
Cappelletti, M. (1999). Juízes Legisla dores? Sérgio Antonio Fabris Publisher.
Collins, H. (2010). Employme nt Law (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Cotterrell, R. (1989). The Politics of Jurisprudence: A Critical Introduction to Legal Philosophy. Butterworth Press.
Dardot, P., & Laval, C. (2016). A Nova Razão do Mundo: Ensaio sobre a Sociedade Neoliberal. Boitempo Press.
Dilcher, G. (2016). The Germanists and the Historical School of Law: German Legal Science between Romanticism, Realism, and Rationalization. Rechtsgeschichte: Legal History, 24, 20-72. https://doi.org/10.12946/rg24/020-072
Duguit, L. (1912). Les Transformations Générales du Droit Privé depuis le Code Napoleón. Félix Alcan Publisher.
Edelman, B. (1976). O Direito Captado pela Fotografia: Elementos para uma Teoria Marxist a do Direito. Centelha Press.
Edelman, B. (2016). A Le galização da Classe Operária. Boitempo Press.
Faria, J. E. (1988). Eficácia Jurídica e Violência Simbólica: O Direito como Instrumento de Tran sformação Social. Universidade de São Paulo Press.
Freund, J. (2003). Sociolog ia de Max Weber (5th ed.). Forense Universitária Press.
Galanter, M. (1966). The Modernization of Law. In M. Weiner (Ed.), Modernization: The Dynamics o f Growth (pp. 153-165). Basic Book Publishers.
Gordley, J. (2013). The Ju rists: A Critical History. Oxford University Press.
Hirsch, J. (2010). Teoria Materialista do Estado: Processos de Transformação do Sistema Capitalist a de Estado. Revan Press.
Holmes Jr., O. W. (1897). The Path of Law. Harvard Law Review, 10, 457-478. https://doi.org/10.2307/1322028
Kahn-Freund, O. (1983). La bour and the Law (3rd ed.). Stevens & Sons Publishers.
Kay, G., & Mott, J. (1982). Pr actical Order and the Law of the Labour. Macmillan Press.
Kronman, A. (1983). Max W eber. Stanford University Press.
Mandel, E. (1976). Introduction. In K. Marx (Ed.), Capital: A Critique of Political Economy vol. I. (1141 p). Penguin Books Press.
Marx, K. (1976). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, vol. I. Penguin Books Press.
Naves, M. B. (2014). A Questão do Direito em Marx. Outras Expressões Press, Dobra Universitário Press.
Neumann, F. (1964). The Democratic and the Authoritarian State: Essays in Political and Legal Th eory. Collier-Macmillan Press.
Oliverio, A. (2020). The Importance of Models in Sociology: The Example of Max Weber. Advan ces in Applied Sociology, 10, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2020.101001
Pachukanis, E. B. (2017). O Aparato de Estado Soviético na Luta contra o Burocratismo. In E. B. Pachukanis (Ed.), A Teoria Geral do Direito e o Marxismo e Ensaios Escolhidos (375 p). Sundermann Press.
Pashukanis, E. B. (2003). The General Theory of Law and Marxism. Transaction Publishers.
Plá Rodriguez, A. (2000). Princípios de Direito do Trabalho (3rd ed.). LTr Press.
Radbruch, G. (1930). Int roducción a la Ciencia del Derecho. Librería General de Victoriano Suárez Press.
Renner, K. (1949). The Institutions of Private Law and their Social Functions. Routledge & Kegan Paul Press.
Rogowski, R. (2008). Governance of the European Social Model: The Case of Flexicurity. Review of European Economic Policy, 2, 82-91.
Santiago Nino, C. (1989). Consideraciones sobre la Dogmática Jurídica. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Press.
Shecaira, F., & Struchiner, N. (2016). Teoria da Argumentação Jurídica. PUC-Rio Press/Contraponto Press.
Stoyanovitch, K. (1968). La Théorie du Contrat selon E. B. Pachoukanis. Archives de Philos ophie du Droit, 13, 89-98.
Supiot, A. (2016). Crítica do Direito do Trabalho. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Press.
Tarello, G. (2002). Ideologías del Siglo XVII sobre la Codificación y Estructura de los Códigos. In Cul tura jurídica y política del derech o (545 p). Comares Press.
Thiry-Cherques, H. (2009). Max Weber: O Processo de Racionalização e o Desencantamento do Trabalho nas Organizações Contemporâneas. Revista de Administração Pública, 4, 897-918. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122009000400007
Trubek, D. (1972). Max Weber on Law and the Rise of Capitalism. Wisconsin Law Review, 3 , 720-753.
Unger, R. M. (1979). O Direito na Sociedade Moderna: Contribuição à Crítica da Teoria Social. Civilização Brasileira Press.
Vandervelde, K. (2011). Thinking like a Lawyer: An Introduction to Legal Reasoning (2th ed.). Westview Press.
Vesting, T. (2015). Teoria d o Direito: Uma Introdução. Saraiva Press.
Weber, M. (1999). Economia e Sociedade: Fundamentos da Sociologia Compreensiva, vol. II. Universidade de Brasília Press.
Weber, M. (2000). Economia e Sociedade: Fundamentos da Sociologia Compreensiva (3rd ed.), vol. I. Universidade de Brasília Press.