Purpose, Conflict, and Justice – A Dialogue Between Ihering and Jellinek
What is the purpose of law? Is it merely obedience to norms—or an expression of a deeper human need for order, justice, and recognition? Rudolf von Ihering and Georg Jellinek have each provided answers that continue to resonate to this day.
Ihering: The Struggle for Justice
In his passionate essay The Struggle for Justice (1872), Rudolf von Ihering asserts that every person must be willing to stand up for their rights—even when the material damage is minimal. Why? Because the law only lives if it is defended. It is not a passive system but a moral force. Law must be fought for, upheld, and felt. For Ihering, law is not an end in itself but a social defense of personality.
He later elaborates on this idea in his main work The Purpose in Law, demonstrating that law is not a dogma but a tool for achieving societal purposes. Law is in motion—because life itself is in motion.
Jellinek: The Social-Ethical Significance of Law, Injustice, and Punishment
Georg Jellinek, in contrast, does not speak of struggle but of interpretation. In his work The Social-Ethical Significance of Law, Injustice, and Punishment (1878), he describes law as an expression of society’s moral will. It is not merely a directive but part of an overarching ethical will.
For Jellinek, punishment is not just a sanction but a symbolic expression of societal disapproval. Injustice is not merely the violation of a norm but a disruption of social equilibrium. In this perspective, law becomes a social-ethical medium of communication—grounded in shared convictions.
Two Approaches, One Direction
Both thinkers place humans at the center—not as objects but as carriers and creators of law.
Ihering: Law lives through action, through struggle, through standing up for oneself.
Jellinek: Law lives through social significance, through shared understanding of justice and morality.
Where Ihering evokes the energy of the individual, Jellinek describes the quieter yet equally powerful force of societal consensus.
From the Perspective of the Project
The project would honor both—Ihering for his passionate call to responsibility, and Jellinek for his profound insight into the social dimension of law.
For law is not merely to be obeyed. It is to be understood, felt, and shared. It is part of our culture of coexistence. Ihering and Jellinek illustrate in their own ways: Without people, there is no law. And without legal consciousness, there is no community.
