The imperialism of lawyers and experts

It’s not just multinational corporations and “human rights”, everybody’s responsible for everything. The Ohio Supreme Court has approved the Cincinnati lawsuit against handgun manufacturers, so gun manufacturers are responsible for street crime. The AMA, among other enterprises that are making social conditions more and more a medical responsibility, is getting into the anti-bullying business.

As in the case of “human rights” litigation the effect of the blurring of responsibilities is likely to be a complex and inconsistent web of demands and legal obligations created by activists, judges and bureaucrats, leading to an irresistible demand for rationalization in the form of comprehensive centrally-prescribed standards governing pretty much the whole of human life determined by consultation between the experts and big institutions involved. Self-government requires clear responsibilities and limited power. There doesn’t seem to be much room for those things in the world that’s shaping up.
Posted by Jim Kalb at June 25, 2002 11:07 AM | Send