Abstract

Based on a reflection on the dark side of law, the article refers to the conceptual difficulties we encounter when we approach the idea of power; and to the difficulties that have to do with the negative reputation of the concept itself. The proposal is articulated around two basic ideas: firstly, the idea that the limitation of freedom is not something that corresponds exclusively to power, but is a basic consequence of the impact of normative systems on human conduct; secondly, constitutionalism allows the possibility of analysing the relationship between law and power in terms parallel to those that arise when the relationship between law and (correct) morality is conceived as contingent