Freedom and the Law (LF ed.)

The greatest obstacle to rule of law in our time, contends Bruno Leoni, 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.

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Citation

Freedom and the Law, expanded 3rd edition, foreword by Arthur Kemp (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund 1991).

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For a reflection on the enduring relevance of Leoni’s work, see the Liberty Classic Bruno Leoni and the Search for Certainty in Law, by Alberto Mingardi.

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Friedrich August von Hayek (Author)

Leoni’s ideas on individual freedom, the rule of law, and the limits of government intervention had a strong influence on Hayek’s own theories of freedom.
Milton Friedman (Author)

The lectures that became Leoni’s Freedom and the Law were part of a lecure series at the Claremont Institute in the 1950s; Leoni lectured with Hayek and Friedman. The latter’s Capitalism and Freedom may be seen as a similar project undertaken through the lens of economics.
Ayn Rand (Author)

Rand and Leoni’s work thematically intersect, as both wrote extensively regarding individual freedom and the importance of limited government.
Ludwig von Mises (Author)

Leoni was an admirer of Mises and was particularly affected by his critiques of socialism and argued for a free-market society.

Key Quotes

Law

Legislation is a result of an all-or-none decision. Either you win and get exactly what you want, or you lose and get exactly nothing. Even worse, you get something that you do not want and you have to pay for it just as if you had wanted it. In this sense winners and losers in voting are like…

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Law

Unless I am wrong, there is more than an analogy between the market economy and a judiciary or lawyers' law, just as there is much more than an analogy between a planned economy and legislation. If one considers that the market economy was most successful both in Rome and in the Anglo-Saxon…

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Critical Responses

Essay

Review of Leoni, Freedom and the Law

Murray N. Rothbard

Rothbard provides a critical commentary of Freedom and the Law and discusses Leoni’s alternative model of how law should function in society.

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Article

Bruno Leoni’s Legacy and Continued Relevance

Todd J. Zywicki

Zywicki discusses the ways in which Leoni’s alternative model of the functions of the law in society is more relevant than ever. This review identifies how the law-making by executive edict within the 21st century is aligned with the trends that Leoni identified when he wrote Freedom and the Law…

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Liberty Classic

Law, Legislation, and Leoni

Arnold Kling

In this Liberty Classic at Econlib, Kling fears society today has grown too complex for Leoni’s proposed legal system to work.

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Connected Readings

Law & Liberty Essay

Bruno Leoni and the Search for Certainty in Law

Alberto Mingardi

In this Liberty Classic at Law and Liberty, Mingardi discusses Freedom and the Law as a critique of “legal certainty” and a shift towards bottom-up spontaneous law.

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Book

The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State

Bruce L. Benson

Like Freedom in the Law, Benson identifies weaknesses in and public dissatisfaction with legal institutions. Benson argues that private law making, and enforcement would be more effective than formal legal governance.

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Book

Law, Legislation and Liberty

F. A. Hayek

In the first volume of Hayek’s three volume work, like Freedom and the Law, emphasises the importance of individual freedom within the legal system. Like Leoni, Hayek emphasizes the need for limited government intervention, the protection of individual rights, and the role of spontaneous order in…

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Journal Article

Pure Theory of Law and Analytical Jurisprudence

Hans Kelsen

Like Freedom and the Law, Kelsen’s work contributes to the discourse on the relationship between law and individual freedom, albeit from a different angle. With Leoni emphasizing the practical implications for freedom within the legal system, while Kelsen delves into the theoretical underpinnings…

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Podcast

Bruno Leoni and the Austrian Tradition

Antonio Masala

This presentation by Antonio Masala at the Austrian Economics Research Conference discusses Bruno Leoni’s influence within the Austrian school of economics.

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