Bankruptcy Law in Perspective

The new bankruptcy act is a failure. Its shortcomings show that we need to change the way we think about bankruptcy law. The problem is not so much with the new bankruptcy act's treatment of any specific issue, though larger problems manifest themselves through questionable specific provisions. Rather, the problem is the way in which bankruptcy law is perceived as an area separate from the rest of the legal world. In many respects the new bankruptcy act inadequately reflects bankruptcy law's existence as part of a legal structure that includes many other federal laws, a Constitution, and detailed treatment of debtor-creditor issues by over fifty jurisdictions. This Article explores the narrow limits within which bankruptcy reform operates and the prominence of these limits in the new act.