Reciprocity as a species of fairness: Completing Malinowski’s theory of law

Authors

James M. Donovan, University of Kentucky College of LawFollow

Files

Description

The present essay seeks to recast Malinowski’s arguments grounding law in the social phenomena of reciprocity in light of current information. Reciprocity is argued to be a higher order construct built out of more basic influences, the most relevant of which are the inherent fairness evaluations humans perform in contexts of distributive justice. Deconstructing Malinowski’s claims into these elemental components preserves the original insight that explains the civil law in terms of social reciprocity. More importantly, this analysis generates a description for the criminal law in these same terms, something Malinowski himself was unable to achieve. The outcome realizes his goal of providing a coherent account of law as a cross-cultural human universal.

Publication Date

2016

Book Title

Bronislaw Malinowski's Concept of Law

Book Author/Editor

Mateusz Stępień

Publisher

Springer

ISBN

978-3319420240

Disciplines

Social and Cultural Anthropology

Recommended Citation

Donovan, James M., "Reciprocity as a species of fairness: Completing Malinowski’s theory of law" (2016). Law Faculty Books and Chapters. 48.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/lawfac_book/48