economy

Economy and the Rule of Law

There is no argument among scholars that there is a relationship between economical conditions and the effective implementation of the Rule of Law. The nature and extend of that relationship is, however, very much debated. Those that have attempted to bring the Rule of Law to developing countries have found that they cannot truly proceed until the country obtains some reasonable level of economic stability.

In her book " The Shock Doctrine - The Rise of Disaster Capitalism", Naomi Klein shows how some "free market" opportunists use misery and despair and fear of national and world crises to expand their power. Is it just coincidence that as rights have been diminished by a weak Congress, removal of habeus corpus, use of torture and a defiant cloak of secrecy permeate our country along with a grab for more presidential power by the Administration that the U.S. economy has suffered terribly? The erosion of the Rule of Law in the United States in order to "protect against a "national emergency"" is a debate that must be had. Until the citizenry feel secure the economy will continue to flounder.

PDF	Order in the Jungle Briefing: Economics and the Rule of Law -- © The Economist Mar. 15, 2008
PDF	Posner, Hayek and the Economic Analysis of Law This Article examines Judge Richard Posner’s critique of F.A. Hayek’s legal theory and contrasts the two thinkers’ very different views of the nature of law, knowledge, and the rule of law. Prof. Todd J. Zywicki Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law; Research Fellow, James Buchanan Center for Political Economy: Program on Politics, Philosophy, and Economics Anthony B. Sanders Associate Attorney, Arnold & Kadjan, Chicago, Illinois. From Social Science Research Network George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 07-05 Iowa Law Review, Vol. 93, No. 2, pp. 559-603, February 2008
PDF	Rule of Law in Development Assistance The “Rule of Law” in Development Assistance: Past, Present, and Future by David M. Trubek Voss-Bascom Professor of Law, Director of the Center on World Affairs and the Global Economy, The International Institute at University of Wisconsin-Madison
PDF	The Rule of Law, Freedom and Prosperity Prof Todd J. Zywicki - George Mason University School of Law Social Science Research Network
Video MP3 PDF Transcript	Naomi Klein vs. Alan Greenspan In a Democracy Now! exclusive debate, former federal reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and journalist/author Naomi Klein square off on the Iraq war, oil, President Bush tax cuts, social security, economic populism in Latin America, corruption and crony capitalism.