Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2019

The Tools of Law that Shape Capitalism

And How Altering Their Use Could Give Form to a More Just Society

  • Provides a thorough and critical analysis of the legal techniques that shape the prevailing socio-economic order
  • Gives an inventory of the most important problems caused by the prevailing socio-economic system and directly links these to the way this system is organized legally
  • Looks for solutions and alternatives, both on the level of the organization of the monetary and the financial system, and the way states function

Part of the book series: Economic and Financial Law & Policy – Shifting Insights & Values (EFLP, volume 3)

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. Introduction

    • Koen Byttebier
    Pages 1-7
  3. Neoliberalism

    • Koen Byttebier
    Pages 65-77
  4. Some Major Unanswered Challenges of Our Times

    • Koen Byttebier
    Pages 79-136
  5. Some Thoughts on a Monetary Way Out

    • Koen Byttebier
    Pages 137-180
  6. Introducing a Universal “Care State” Model

    • Koen Byttebier
    Pages 181-217
  7. A New Focus on Man

    • Koen Byttebier
    Pages 219-236
  8. General Conclusion

    • Koen Byttebier
    Pages 237-239

About this book

The book provides a critical analysis of the legal mechanisms that help shape the capitalist system, and also makes proposals for deploying these tools in a different manner.Although often disguised in difficult legal jargon, in reality the main legal building blocks of the prevailing capitalist socio-economic system are simple, the most important being: (1) money; (2) the company form and (3) (neo)liberal state organization aimed at making markets as free as possible for the entrepreneurial sector. 
Having been used to create the socio-economic order over 2-3 centuries, the legal systems that helped shape capitalist societies around the globe have also contributed to a variety of fundamental problems that remain unaddressed by the capitalist system itself, such as ever-mounting public and private debt, pollution and climate change, an increasing polarization between rich and poor and a globally unjust fiscal order. By proposing alternative uses for the tools of law thatshape capitalism, the book also makes proposals for dealing with these matters.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Center for Economic Law and Governance, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    Koen Byttebier

About the author

Koen Byttebier, Vrije Universiteit Brussels

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access