Psycholegal Scholarship's Contribution to False Consciousness About Injustice

The field of psychology and law began with an avowed focus on social justice. In the past two decades, that focus has been diverted. With justice defined more narrowly than previously, psycholegal research has contributed to false consciousness about the degree to which law reduces injustice and promotes social change. Primary components of false consciousness about law include the belief that procedural justice is more important than substantive or distributive justice, the acceptance of legal doctrines that support corporate capitalism, and the belief that the strict rule of law is inherently superior to individualized equity and commonsense justice.