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Abstract

In his monograph The Redress of Law, Emilios Christodoulidis provides a sophisticated genealogical study of the emergence of total market thinking in Europe. With market constitutionalism having sidelined political constitutionalism, the potential of law to organise the political community is significantly restricted. By examining the commodification of labour, processes of bargaining, unemployment, and strikes, Christodoulidis demonstrates the destructive consequences of law in the service of market rationalities as well as its potential for strategic action to build collective identity in the EU (European Union).

Yet, I argue that this book comes with two significant blind spots, namely a dated understanding of both law and labour. First of all, Christodoulidis’s systems theoretical understanding of law is neglecting the material conditions that law continuously re-produces in the course of globalization. Secondly, his vision of labour remains rather traditional, focused on unionised, white, and male workers. Both elements are central pillars of his analysis but do not reflect the current reality of the 21st century. In this Article, I challenge his conceptualization by situating his work in recent research on the role of law and labour regulation in global capitalism.