Exclusive Legal Positivism

This chapter explores some of the implications of the conventional foundations of law on the debate between two main versions of legal positivism: the so-called exclusive and inclusive theses. It argues that inclusive legal positivism, which was meant to form a middle ground between traditional positivist theories and Ronald Dworkin's anti-positivism, is not a tenable position. There is no such middle ground. This book argues that inclusive legal positivism is irreconcilable with both the social conventions of law and its essentially authoritative nature.