By the 1890s liberal judges’ expansive approach to the law had achieved breathtaking reach. By embracing classical economic theory, they applied the doctrine of substantive due process to enshrine a set of economic laws that no democratic government could overturn; they transformed metaphorical natural law into a body of actual law created by the judiciary. They treated freedom of contract, open competition, and laissez-faire as part of the Constitution. Judges justified their legal opinions by citing the laws of nature and the “laws” of the market, although neither was to be found on the
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