The Dominant Position

The rationale for the “dominant position” in critical legal studies is that there are objective standards of right and justice that possess an authority that is independent of actual human choices and thereby it places normative constraints on these kinds of choices. It can be argued that the “dominant position” reflects a group’s status anxiety, meaning that they are fearful of losing their position of authority and control; therefore, they enact laws that will serve to their benefit of keeping them in power. In relation to feminist jurisprudence, the “dominant position” is representative of the status of power and control men have historically assumed in society which led to varying degrees of female subordination throughout the ages. In relation to the economic analysis of law, the dominant position of market power can be used in various ways such as exploiting customers by raising prices and limiting supply to raise its own position, using unfair discounts or branching into other markets. In this aspect of the law, the position of dominance relies solely on economic factors and can be identified by defining the relevant markets, identifying the market strength and determining any possible barriers to entry. This why there are many articles in effect barring the abuse of dominant position by corporations because such abuse leads to the illegal monopolization of markets and industries often through mergers and buy-outs of competitors. In both the economic analysis of law and feminist jurisprudence, the group that is in control uses its power to insubordinate others.