Introduction
Achille Loria was born in Mantua (Italy) in 1857, and died on 6 November 1943, in Luserna, Turin. In a posthumous note by the Italian economist Augusto Graziani, the Commemorazione del Socio Achille Loria (Commemoration of the Fellow Achille Loria), published in 1949 by the National Academy of the Lincei, Loria is described as a ‘Sovereign of Science’, whose entire life was dedicated to the effective and tireless investigation of truth, a search which continued into old age.
Every problem he encountered was thoroughly examined. Loria’s wide knowledge of fact and theory is comparable to John Stuart Mill’s, especially for the power, ingenuity, and receptive spirit and acceptance of new truths, including those from other disciplines, and from the confutation of mistake and renewed sophism in the social sciences.Loria started producing his scientific works at the age of 22 with a monograph that captured the attention of Italian and foreign academics for its highly critical references, originality of thought and depth of examina- tion.[1] His prolific scientific output is concentrated in the following research areas:
2. Studies of Marxism These include a variety of studies, all integrally reproduced in the volume entitled: Marx e la sua dottrina (Marx and his doctrine), Milan, 1902.
3. Studies of the value of money These include preservations of his writings: Le peripezie monetarie della guerra (Dangerous monetary circumstances of war), Milan, 1919; Le peripezie monetarie del dopo guerra (Dangerous monetary circumstances after war), Milan, 1924; Aspetti sociali ed economici del dopo guerra (Social and economic aspects after war), Milan, 1921.
4. Social and Sociological Studies Il movimento operaio (The workers’ movement), Padua, 1903; Il salariato (The salaried), Milan, 1915; La socialogia, le sue scuole (Sociology and its schools), Padua, 1900; La morphologie sociale (Social morphology), Paris, 1906; preface to the Ricchezza della Nazioni (Wealth of nations), by Adam Smith, Turin: UTET, 1927; Verso la giustizia sociale (Towards social justice), Milan, 1920.
Studies of the economic foundation of the law are relevant to the present discussion.
They are forcefully argued in Loria’s work, particularly in ‘Le basi economiche del diritto’ (The economic basis of the law), previously published in the Giornale del economisti (Economists’ Journal), Second Series, 1893, 347, et seq., and subsequently published entirely in the second part of the monograph entitled Le basi economiche della costituzione sociale (The economic basis of the social constitution) (Milan, Turin, Rome: Fratelli Bocca Editori, 1913, 135, et seq.).2In his work, Loria articulates an innovative ‘economic theory of the law’ through an argumentative investigation, developed from two perspectives: (i) the relation between the general theory of the law and economics; and more specifically, (ii) the confirmation of this theory in the most significant legal institutions, from their genesis to their progressive development, which from Loria’s point of view are only a necessary reproduction of economic relations. From this point of view, he analyses in turn the following legal institutions:
1. family law;
2. property law;
3. succession law;
4. relations between proprietors;
5. relations between owners and non-owners;
6. criminal law; and
7. international law.
These institutions reflect the logical and dispositive order proposed in Loria’s works.
The following discussion will explicitly examine Loria’s economic theory of law. Subsequently, the general meaning of this theory in relation to the above legal institutions will be demonstrated.