LSAT 21, Section 4, RC Passage 2, Theories of Law

RC Passage 2 Explanation

Paragraph Summaries

1. There are two main theories of what “law” is: natural law (law follows a moral order)
   and legal positivism (law follows the commands of the government).
2. Law and Economics says that law should maximize economic value. Critical Legal Studies (CLS) says that elites use the law for their benefit.
3. Law and Literature theory says that legal opinions should be seen as artistic performances.
4. White, the law and literature theorist, says that judges translate old legal opinions to fit new circumstances.

Analysis

There’s a lot of detail in this passage. It’s a neutral description of five different legal theories.

You don’t need to know all the details, but you should know where to find each separate theory. You’ll want to reread the section on a theory before answering a question about that theory.

Know that the passage focusses on three modern theories that have developed since 1970.

The traditional theories in the first paragraph are only given to show the historical context. They’re never mentioned again.