Does Economic Analysis of Law Need Moral Foundations? Comment on Chein

In this short paper commenting on Chein’s contribution to a special issue (dedicated to constitutional reasoning) of the Journal, I ask whether economic analysis of law, when understood as supporting, in particular, the state intervention in the market, needs moral foundations. This seems to be one of the claims made by Chein, and my answer is certainly “yes.” Economic analysis of law and state intervention in the market certainly need some moral ground (utilitarian, Kantian, or else). What I resist is Chein’s claim that they need the complex theoretical construction of Dworkin’s idea of integrity plus Taylor’s idea of identity and Bankowski’s idea of living lawfully.