Abstract

To secure individual freedom by granting equal rights is a central achievement of the Rule of Law. A gap does, however, remain between the equality of rights and the inequality of economic resources. Soviet lawyer Evgeny B. Pashukanis formulated in 1924 that it is the law which, through the abstractness of its language and institutions, allows those rich in power and possession to disguise their material interests. In his opinion, the transformation from capitalism to communism would inevitably require all law to wither away. The metaphor gives way to a critical reflection about where the legal abstractions come from and what they do to our everyday relations. This text argues that it is even more an invitation to think about how this reflection can be made accessible to a greater public.