The ‘Market’ in Criminal Law Theory

Abstract

The market is central to the political liberalism at the heart of contemporary criminal law theory. But while it is assumed that we live in a market society, there is little reflection on what this means for criminal law, most criminal law theory barely acknowledging either market crimes or the market as an institution. This paper makes the case for criminal law theory to engage with the market and to reflect on the ways in which it shapes the role played by criminal law in a market society. By understanding the market as a form of social ordering it is possible to think more systematically about its relationship with the criminal law. The paper identifies how the criminal law has been central to the constitution and regulation of markets, before setting out four areas in which criminal law theory can critically engage with the place of markets in contemporary society.