On Ronald Dworkin's Jurisprudence Based On Liberalist Theory Of Right

With liberalism as its dominant ideological doctrine and tradition, and under a unique social, political and cultural background, the USA has been witnessing dramatic and dazzling changes ever since the 1960s.In correspondence with such changes, there have appeared diversified schools of jurisprudence which are assumed to be based on liberalist tradition, and are striving to offer countermeasures. Among them, the jurisprudence based on liberalist theory of right advanced and advocated by Ronald Dworkin, professor of jurisprudence of Oxford University and New York University, has cut a conspicuous figure in this fiercely controversial field.Different from the traditional theories of right, Dworkin's Rights Thesis, with the concept of equality as the core and theoretical premise, is characterized by a liberalist political and legal theory composed of the principle of political morality, equality of resources, spiritual freedom and civil disobedience. By probing into the legal positivism and pragmatism dominant in the field of the American judicial science, Dworkin has build up a new judicial theory with the concept of interpretive law as a breakthrough and the matter of principle, constructive interpretation of law and integrative law as the major contents.His constitutionalist theory, embodying the constitutional concept of democracy, the moral reading and integrative interpretation of the American Constitution, is also established on his earnest research on the statutes and judicial cases concerning civil rights development in the United States.Hence Professor Dworkin construes a huge structure and special methodology of political and legal science that focus on the rational interpretation of the U.S. political & legal system and its positive and negative impact on the civil rights movement and constitutionalist construction.Through close study of Dworkin's theory, we may conclude that the Middle-class dualism of revolution and reconciliation is perfectly presented and developed in this liberalist legal theory of right throwing a light on better understanding of western philosophy and jurisprudence, while the rational ideas of law and democracy in Dworkin's theory can certainly be evaluated and accorded with China's political and legal practice, as China is also faced with the drastic social transition and endeavors to construct a legal order with the rule of law as its fundamental principle .