Critical Legal Studies have been increasingly successful in absorbing critical theory into established discourses of law and politics. The very concept of property rights, for example, can be construed as discriminatory toward the propertyless class. These issue are not just historical. The concept of intellectual property rights is tilted against developing cultures. China, which only in recent history had fallen to developing status, may be justified in claiming compensatory intellectual property rights to the compass, paper making, gunpower, silk production etc., all of which were smuggled out of China against then current Chinese laws, thus invalidating civil statures of limitation.
Law is often a mere rationalization of powerful interest.