The Structure of Liberty Justice and the Rule of Law

by Barnett, Randy E.

• ISBN13: 9780198297291
• ISBN10: 0198297297
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-03-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

What is liberty, as opposed to license, and why is it so important? When people pursue happiness, peace and prosperity whilst living in society, they confront pervasive problems of knowledge, interest, and power. These problems are dealt with by ensuring the liberty of the people to pursuetheir own ends, but addressing these problems also requires that liberty be structured by certain rights and procedures associated with the classical liberal conception of justice and the rule of law. In this controversial new work, Barnett examines the serious social problems that are addressed byliberty and the background or 'natural' rights and procedures that distinguish liberty from license. He goes on to outline the constitutional framework that is needed to protect this structure of liberty. This is the only discussion of the liberal conception of justice and the rule of law to draw upon insights from philosophy, economics, political theory, and law. And, although the book is intended to challenge specialists, its clear and accessible prose ensure that it will be of immense value toboth scholars and students working in a range of academic disciplines.

Author Biography

Randy E. Barnett is Austin B. Fletcher Professor at the Boston University School of Law, and the author of numerous books on legal theory.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Liberty vs. License	1	(28)
PART I. THE PROBLEMS OF KNOWLEDGE
Using Resources: The First-Order Problem of Knowledge	29	(12)
Two Methods of Social Ordering	41	(22)
The Liberal Conception of Justice	63	(21)
Communicating Justice: The Second-Order Problem of Knowledge	84	(24)
Specifying Conventions: The Third-Order Problem of Knowledge	108	(27)
PART II. THE PROBLEMS OF INTEREST
The Partiality Problem	135	(15)
The Incentive Problem	150	(18)
The Compliance Problem	168	(29)
PART III. THE PROBLEMS OF POWER
The Problem of Enforcement Error	197	(19)
Fighting Crime Without Punishment	216	(22)
The Problem of Enforcement Abuse	238	(19)
Constitutional Constraints on Power	257	(27)
Imagining a Polycentric Constitutional Order: A Short Fable	284	(17)
PART IV. RESPONSES TO OBJECTIONS
Beyond Justice and the Rule of Law?	301	(28)
Bibliography	329	(10)
Index	339