Abstract
This paper assesses the foundational conceptions of legal systems according to Hans Kelsen and Evgeny Pachukanis. It presents the methodological elements used by each of these authors to justify their theoretical systems and argues that the grounds of law have to reside on a minimum shared accordance by the individuals that live in the community to which the legal system is applied. Thus, it claims that Kelsen’s model may agree with a moderate socialist view without entailing the abandoning of the pyramidal structure conceived by him.
legal positivismo; historical materialism; socialism