Except in the 'mist-enveloped' regions of modern bourgeois ideological individualism all commodit ies are the products of collective labour. This book is no exception. Tracing the myriad relationships of labour which lie behind its Product ion would be a fascinating and awe-inspiring task - from lumberjacks to computer assemblers, from parents to fax operators, from childcarers to coffee pickers, from roadsweepers to lorry drivers, from all the living writers to all the dead writers of past generations on whom we stand. They all deserve recognition. Of the contributions of some, however, we are able to make particular mention. Freda Vincent, who in coping with over 30 articles on different disks with different formats now dreams in WordPerfect 5.1; Peter Fitzpatrick, our Series Editor, who still wakes with the words 'word length' and'price' on his lips; Sarah Carter, our law librarian, who assiduously checked all references (once again discovering the ineptitudes of mere academics); foanne Conaghan for'grinning and bearing' the occupation of'her' computer; the CLGs in Coventry, Warwick, Cambridge and Kent who commented upon early drafts; the Kent Law School for its financial support; Anne Beech, Linda Etchart and Monica Ali at Pluto for their efficiency in bringing this project to fruition; all our authors who are patiently waiting for CLH 2; and Beth, Charlotte, Holly, Joanne, Nell and Patrick for their conversation, hugs and smiles.

Finally, in the vein of 'colleaive labour as the private property of alienated other', we would like to thank Pantheon Books inc., a division of Random House Inc., for its kind permission to publish David Kairys's and Duncan Kennedy's articles from the Politics of law: A Progressive Critique, and Law and Critique for their permission regarding the NCLG interview.