This book is an interpretation and critique of Habermas's philosophy as contained in his book, Between Facts and Norms. The main argument is that while Habermas does succeed in laying out foundations, conceptual and methodological, for the philosophy of law, the book is flawed by a fundamental contradiction between a democracy ruled by law and capitalism.

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Toward a Critique of Habermas's Philosophy of Law Chapter 3 The Tension between Facticity and Validity Chapter 4 On Mediating Private and Public Autonomy: The Genesis of Rights Chapter 5 The Genesis of the State Chapter 6 Law and Jurisprudence Chapter 7 Deliberative Politics and Administrative Social Power Chapter 8 The Public Sphere, Civil Society, and the Rule of Capital Chapter 9 The Different Paradigms of Law and the Difference They Make Chapter 10 The Achievement and Limits of Habermas's Philosophy of Law

James L. Marsh is professor of philosophy at Fordham University in Bronx, New York. He is the author of several books such as Modernity and Its Discontents and Critique, Action, and Liberation.