ABSTRACT
The strongest side of Franz Neumann's work is his studies in the sociology of law. The essay titled "The Change in the Function of law in Modern Society" is a profound examination of the economic moorings of legal codes and viewpoints. No less interesting is Neumann's analysis of natural law in terms of historical needs and perspectives. He shares with others the opinion that natural law theory is self-contradictory, in that it is compelled to introduce into its conceptual framework non-normative elements such as power. Toward the end of his life, Neumann asserted the Pareto-like premise that political power unqualifiedly dominates economic forces. Since in an authoritarian state, power controls the means of terror, the manipulation of production and consumption, of propaganda and education, he could not envision continued belief in economic determinism. Neumann attempted to resolve the dichotomy of his work by searching out a new theoretical basis.
