Rudolf von Jhering e la lotta per il diritto, oggi. A proposito dei libri di Pasquale Femia

This paper offers a critical reappraisal of Rudolf von Jhering’s legal philosophy through the lens of Pasquale Femia’s recent works, Sei anni di cammino, sette di divenire and Sentimento e moltitudine. Moving beyond the conventional reading of Jhering as a theorist of legal purpose or as an apologist of coercion, the paper highlights the vitality, conflictual dynamism, and ethical resonance of his conception of law. Femia’s interpretation reanimates Jhering as a thinker of real legal life, of interests not as selfish impulses but as expressions of relational vulnerability and shared existence. Key topics include the dialectic between individual and collective rights, the role of social practices and customs in legal normativity, the ambiguous relationship between law and force, and the unfinished texture of law as revealed by Nietzsche’s concept of «half-written laws». The discussion also engages with contemporary challenges – digital platforms, global inequalities, ecological risks – by connecting Jhering’s insights with theories of societal constitutionalism and common goods. The concluding thesis is that the struggle for law today is not a formal or procedural task, but a living, transformative engagement with the conditions of human dignity and social coexistence.