The Balancing Efficiency & Justice in the Rationality of Modern Law and Economics
Abstract
The economic approach to law (law and economics) has become a dominant paradigm in modern legal analysis. Through the framework of efficiency, it seeks to explain and evaluate legal rules based on their impact on resource allocation and social welfare. Yet behind this rational ambition lies a fundamental tension between efficiency and justice. This paper explores the historical, philosophical, and normative dimensions of law and economics, focusing on the seminal contributions of Ronald H. Coase, Guido Calabresi, Gary S. Becker, and Richard A. Posner. It argues that the economic approach should not be reduced to market rationality but understood as a form of pragmatic moral rationality, a pursuit of “bounded justice” within a world of scarcity. By integrating efficiency, justice, and legal legitimacy, this study affirms the continuing relevance of law and economics for contemporary legal philosophy, including its adaptation within the Indonesian legal context, positioning efficiency as the means and justice as the end.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26532/jph.v13i1.48928
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