Abstract
This article examines the intellectual origins of strict products liability inAmerica. The author traces the intellectual roots of strict products liability to the constellation of ideas referred to in the article as “pragmatic instrumentalism” (pragmatism, institutional economics, and legal realism). Pragmatic instrumentalism played a significant role in changing the way tort law is viewed inAmerica—transforming it from an individualist focus to being concerned with broader policy implications. This new intellectual perspective, combined with Progressive Era politics, led to the shift away from negligence to strict liability in products liability.
Disciplines
Law | Legal History, Theory and Process
Publisher
Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law
Publication Date
10-1995
Rights Information
Copyright 1995 James R. Hackney, Jr.
Rights Holder
James R. Hackney, Jr.
Permanent URL
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20002490
Recommended Citation
Hackney Jr., James R., "The intellectual origins of American strict products liability: a case study in American pragmatic instrumentalism" (1995). School of Law Faculty Publications. Paper 138. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20002490
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Notes
Originally published in American Journal of Legal History, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 443-509, October 1995.
Reprinted with permission from the American Journal of Legal History.