Freedom and the Law"Those who value individual freedom should reassess the place of the individual within the legal system as a whole. It is no longer a question of defending this or that particular freedom. . . . It is a question of deciding whether individual freedom is compatible in principle with the present system centered on . . . legislation."--Bruno Leoni, from the introductionThe greatest obstacle to rule of law in our time, contends the author of this thought-provoking work, is the problem of overlegislation. In modern democratic societies, legislative bodies are increasingly usurping functions that were and should be exercised by individuals or groups rather than government. The result is an unwieldy surfeit of laws and regulations that by their sheer volume stifle individual freedom.Bruno Leoni (1913-1967) was an attorney and Professor of Legal Theory and the Theory of the State at the University of Pavia, Italy.Arthur Kemp is Professor Emeritus of Economics, at Claremont McKenna College. |
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
Which Freedom? | 26 |
Freedom and Constraint | 43 |
Copyright | |
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accept according actually adopted arkoi authorities behavior Bruno Leoni century certainty citizens claims codes coercion coercive common law compared conceived concept concerned connection conseil d'état considered constitutions constraint contemporary Continental corresponding countries definition demand democracy Dicey economic economists electors enacted England English Eugen Ehrlich F. A. Hayek fact famous free market Gordon Tullock Greek group decisions hand idea individual choice individual freedom instance Italian judges jurists Justinian kind latter law-making process lawyers least legal norms legal operator legal system less Lord Acton Ludwig von Mises meaning minorities officials ordinary language possible present principle probably problem procedure Professor Hayek reason Rechtsstaat relating representation representatives respect result Roman Roman law rule of law scholars seems semantic confusion sense similar simple majority rule simply socialist society statutes stipulative stipulative definitions theory things tion unanimity usually vote trading voters written law