Un’analisi giuridica dell’economia: John R Commons e i Legal Foundations of Capitalism

Abstract

Legal Foundations of Capitalism by John Roger Commons (1924) challenges both orthodox theories of economics and mainstream legal doctrines, at a time when the social sciences were oriented towards new epistemological approaches. This essay shows how Common’s work overruled the assumptions of that movement which in the 20th century became known as Law and Economics. It is not an attempt to extend economic analysis to the study of law. Instead, it is aimed at the application of legal concepts, terms and definitions to economics, and at making economic phenomena coincide with juridicial ones. The end result is the challenge of both neoclassical economics and of traditional legal theories.