Philip Pettit's Republicanism and Labour Law: A Defence

Abstract

Republican political theory has attracted the attention of labour lawyers in recent years. Engaging with and contributing to this emerging area of scholarly interest, this paper endeavours to defend the possibility of a general republican justification for labour law through reliance on the writings of Philip Pettit. Contrary to the arguments of some scholars, the paper suggests that at least some important parts of labour law could be justified in the light of this particular version of republicanism and it is possible that many other if not all areas could be justified in the future. As Pettit’s republicanism is a work in progress, so too is the justification of labour law in the light thereof.