Todd Zywicki, A Man For All Seasons

Prof. Zywicki expounds on the importance of maintaining the rule of (commercial) law in good times and especialy in bad.  His theses:

Upholding the Rule of Law in Season and out of Season

One common assertion arising from the onset and resolution of the 2008 financial crisis is the belief that it proves the purported need and propriety of the government acting in a swift and discretionary manner and not have its hands tied by the constraints of the rule of law.  Yet a close examination of the most recent crisis as well as those of the past reveals the exact opposite truth: adherence to the rule of law is actually more important during periods of economic crisis, both to restore short-term economic prosperity during the crisis as well as for the long-term systemic impact.

here are four reasons why this is so.  First, adherence to the rule of law is necessary for economic prosperity in general, but even moreso during economic crisis.  Second, adherence to the rule of law is necessary to restrain the opportunism of politicians and special interests that use the opportunity presented by the crisis to piggyback their own narrow interests, often with no relationship to the real problems.  Third, once discretion is unleashed during the crisis history tells us that the dissipation of the crisis does not promote a return to the rule of law—in fact, there is a “ratchet effect” of government discretion as the post-crisis period brings about a consolidation of governmental discretion rather than new limits on it.  And finally, the mere potential for discretionary action promotes moral hazard, thereby creating the conditions for still further rounds of intervention.  Thus, while little is lost in the short run by tying the government’s hands from discretion, more importantly the only way to promote long-term economic growth and preserve freedom in the long run, and to avoid precisely the circumstances that then justify future arbitrary government intervention is to constrain government discretion in the short-run.  Consider each in turn.

Read it all.

And now for some fierce right wing blogging - how the heck does he have that title and that theme and fail to weave in the best of many great quotes from "A Man For All Seasons"? AYFKM? (Ahh, nothing like a little fierce right-wing vitriol to get those blogging juices going...)

Here we go:

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

Hmm - that would actually be more on point in response to this Daily Beast inanity about incarcerating George Zimmerman to keep the peace.

Well, our regularly scheduled vigorous vitriolic denunciations of this and that will resume shortly!  Gotta feed the cats...

Comments

[peter]

Philip Humber, Philip Humber, kept asking myself why I knew that name. Then it hit me,,, he's a former Met!

Sorry to go OT so quickly.

[PaulV]

Nice slide home to take Posey out. As long as runner can touch the base it is a legal play.

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 16 at Raz today.

Trails Romney by 1.

[iqvoice]

I know that my own conscious has been absolved by watching the criminal abuse of the GM bond holders, etc. I now shoplift with impunity, and never correct the checkout lady when she gives me too much change.

[NK]

TomM-- quoting More in "Man for all Seasons".. Love it, fantastic dialogue and acting. Another ap quote is when after Richard Rich perjure himself ( a sin against God) More sees the Badge of Rank showing Rich has been appointed AG for Wales by Cromwell, and More famously says:

Sir Thomas More: Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for Wales?

So is the GZ Murder 2 Charge Corey's equivalent of Rich's false testimony? can we all say to Corey "... but for Seminole County."

BTW-- More is one of my heroes, but let's not forget, he was a religous fanatic -- in any era.

[AliceH]

I made the start of an effort to look for this More quote just a day or two ago, but was overtaken by events aka work. So nice to have it set out for me here, complete with link!

Tom - there is a Milton Friedman quote I thought I bookmarked but can't locate just now. See what you can do about reading my mind and plugging that into a post soon, won't you? There's a good man.

[BR]

Hee, DoT at 9:32 - latest Obama poll:

[Ignatz]

LOL, Alice. That second paragraph reads like on of TM's best.

[Jack is Back!]

Cross posting from other thread:

Corey's other SYG, 2nd Degree murder case.

Its in Jacksonville and it is black on black teenagers.

[AliceH]

Thanks, Ignatz. I just hope it is enough to catch the big guy's eye and get results!

[Clarice]

I go out for a few hours and return to realize I can never hope to catch up. Damn you, TM and the uppers you rode in on.

[daddy]

Clarice,

If t'wer easy to catch up on all the comments on a Thomas More posting, why it would be Utopia:)

[JimMtnViewCaUSA]

"AYFKM"...Mr Maguire, your language!
Consider the children.