Karl Marx and the Rule of Law

Marx begins by writing, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. (Jones, 219)” The existing society was divided between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat, as I stated before. The Bourgeoisie consisted of the social class who owns the means of production. The Proletariat consisted of wage-laborers who have no means of production of their own and they are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live (Jones 219). As you can see the bourgeoisie had the upper hand because they were the people who were mainly in charge of the proletariat. Marx believed that the

Marx perceives society made up as two classes, the powerful and exploitive higher class known as the bourgeoisie and the industrial wage earners that must earn their living by selling their labor known as the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is known as the private property owners and the proletariat works for the bourgeoisie. There is an inequality between these two

To consider each principles power and their own basis within the British constitution, the rule of law needs to be defined too, but this is somewhat harder to do as it has no set definition. Different theories have attempted to define it though, and most agree with the Diceyan definition.It states that the rule of law contains three core elements - one, the law is absolutely supreme, two, everyone is equal before the law, and three, the Constitution may be found in the ordinary laws of the state.

The rule of law is whereby the government and all those who govern are bound by the law and everyone must follow the law. Rule of law is also known as nomocracy. Government individual officials are not entitled to make any decision which is not in accordance to the law (Paulsen, Calabresi, McConnell & Bray, 2013). All the citizens are governed by the law including those who make the laws. A. V. Dicey has highly advocated for rule of law in modern times and has popularized it. In history the idea of rule of law can be traced back to the ancient civilizations like China, Mesopotamia, and Rome among others.

The rule of law is treating all persons equally under the law in a society that is not run by any arbitrary power. Everyone is subject to the rules of law, including those in government and court positions; it is consistent throughout society and essential to achieving justice. An example of the rule of law being successfully applied to achieve justice in the

Marx’s primarily aims to explain how communism will free men, end the class struggle. The work argues that class struggles, and the exploitation of one class by another is the source of all inequality. Marx’s theories become one the motivating force behind all historical developments. The work strongly advocates the freedom of the proletariats which Marx’s claims can only be achieved when property and other goods cease to be privately owned. He see’s that private property has been a problem through out history, capital that aids the ruling class to maintain control. Marx argues that the lower class come together in a revolution and gain power and eventually take the power away from the upper class.

Marx advocated social reform for the proletariat (workers).The focus of Marx’s conflict theory is that by eliminating privilege, the overall welfare of the society can be increased. This would then create a true equality

As mentioned in the text “Law is a body of rules established by government officials that bind government, individuals, and nongovernment organization.” These rules were established to maintain stability and justice. The five sources of law are common law, constitutional law, legislation, executive orders and administrative law. Common law is judge made and is grounded in tradition and previous judicial decisions, instead of in written laws. It was a tradition beginning in England as the United States had former ties to England, they were influenced by it. Constitutional law is the body of law that comes out of the courts in cases involving the interpretation of the constitution. The highest court is the Supreme Court.

We can’t write off the rule of law as irrelevant rhetoric: it has been recognised as an important constitutional principle in an Act of Parliament: Constitutional Reform Act 2005- 1. The rule of Law; This act does not adversely affect- (a) the existing constitutional principle of the rule of law, and is routinely cited as a constitutional principle by the courts.

Marx conceived the base and superstructure approach that defines capitalist society. The base relates to all that is a function of production in society and conversely, the superstructure, which can be said to be derived from the base, relates to the values, culture, ideology and the governing bodies of society. The former creates and supports the latter by a process of legitimisation of the economic activities, and in turn, the superstructure ensures the processes remain in place. Class domination plays a large part in this process of organisation; for example, private education providing better opportunities for advancement and primary socialisation into the higher echelons of society. However, a counter argument claims that the state is just as involved in the stresses and “struggles of civil society’’ as opposed to being a mere extension of it for the pure benefit of a particular class interest (Held 2001, in Hall and Gieben 2001, p 113).

In discussing is welfare possible for Marx under the capitalist mode of production there is some debate that the welfare state have been guided through by questions, one is that the salience of the class diminish with the extension of social citizenship? Or can welfare state fundamentally transforms capitalist society? And finally what are the causal forces behind welfare- state development? (Esping-Andersen, 1989). But as you can guess these questions aren’t recent, as they were established in the 19th century by political economists, it doesn’t matter whether they are liberal, conservative or even Marxist. This is because they were preoccupied due to the relationship of capitalism and welfare.

Without the English Common Law, America’s judicial system and the true meaning and purpose of the Constitution could not be understood. As Fisher and Pond state in Our American Common Law, “It is the Common Law that is most represented within Our Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Our Bill of Rights.” These documents were designed to limit and eliminate the vicious Equity, Maritime or Admiralty Law which was what we revolted against as Our Revolution against the totalitarianism of England. Since the colonies in the seventeenth century migrated from Europe, the colonial government was a mixture of English principles that had been modified to fit the needs and beliefs of the new nation. Therefore, British and American legal systems share many similarities. Global legal system

Though Marx’s theories were first conceived over 150 years ago, his work continues to be tremendously influential and is perhaps the most well known scholarship within the sociological canon. Despite their prominence, some of Marx’s most famous ideas have yet to be proven by the course of history. Neo-Marxists may insist that the revolution is coming, but the fact remains that the overthrow of capitalism has yet to materialize. I argue that the communist revolution has not yet occurred because the proletariat has been unable to develop the universal class consciousness that Marx asserts is a necessary condition for his predicted mass uprising. Additionally, I postulate that the theories of Weber and Simmel reveal the factors impeding

The rule of law is seen as being one of the most fundamental components of the UK constitution as well as being a principle that is concerned with restricting parliamentary action. Though the rule of law is seen to be a component in the constitution; the actual meaning of the rule of law has been very problematic to interpret. This is considerably down to the fact that it means different things to different people as since the nineteenth century, academics, politicians and judges have proposed diverse definitions and explanations in regards to the rule of law and the role it upholds in the UK constitution.

Rule of law in simplest terms means law rules, that is, law is supreme. The term “Rule of law‟ is derived from the French phrase “la principle de legalite” (the principle of legality) which means a government on principle of law and not of men. Rule of Law is a viable and dynamic concept and, like many other concepts, is not capable of any exact definition. It is used in contradistinction to rule of man. Sir Edward Coke, the Chief Justice in King James I‟s reign is said to be the originator of this principle. However, concrete shape was given to it by Professor A.V. Dicey, for the first time in his book “Law of the Constitution” (1885) in the form of three principles.