Is positive law always a force for good? Professor Richard Epstein of NYU School of Law argues that the positive law works for the good when it follows natural law principles and that natural law gives us a powerful framework to criticize particular legal systems (such as those permitting slavery). Professor Epstein, in this series on the Common Law, provides an alternative to the conventional view that property rights are arbitrarily created by the state, and therefore can be changed at will by the state. A few simple rules, he argues, are universal principles of social organization, consistent across time and culture, which form the basis of social gains. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ASpcFTUGfxM