Anti‐rhetoric as rhetoric: The law and economics movement

This essay analyzes the public rhetoric of the influential Law and Economics movement. We explore the affinity between rhetoric and judicial argument as reflected in the work of Judge Richard A. Posner, a leader in the Law and Economics movement. His approach to judicial discourse contains implicit rhetorical assumptions that should be discussed and evaluated by scholars in the field of communication. Our thesis is that Posner's anti‐rhetorical posture is itself a rhetoric that is persuasive and influential in legal and public arenas. His theory of wealth maximization is a discursive construct which invites audiences to adopt particular configurations of social and legal relationships.

Key concepts:

• Rhetoric
• law and economics
• Richard Posner
• public argument