The latest episode of EconTalk is this conversation with my co-host here at Cafe Hayek, Don Boudreaux, on the distinction between law and legislation. We use the two terms interchangeably. We talk about Congress passing a law. We say that there oughta be a law about this or that. But Don, taking his cue from the first volume of Hayek’s Law, Legislation and Liberty, argues that we should keep those two terms for two different concepts. It’s one of the deepest things I’ve learned from Don and I think he would tell you it’s one of the deepest things he’s learned from Hayek. Listen to it here. And if you find the conversation as interesting as I did, let me know and we’ll do another one down the road going into the ideas in more depth.
To vote for EconTalk as the Best Podcast of 2006, go here. (And I’ve corrected the links in the earlier post.)
Boudreaux on Law and Legislation and Liberty
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'Law' & 'legislation' refer to _real_ things, not just 'concepts. In reality, there is common law, some 800 years old, & there is legislation — statute — passed by a legislature. Common law grows & changes as people find they have problems that need solving. Legislation is political.
Please continue this discussion
Don's comment about knowable future preferences reminds me of the Daniel Gilbert's recent book Stumbling on Happiness
also Stephen Wolfram's recent book A New Kind of Science talks about the fact that no model less complex than the system whose behavior that it attempts to predict can do so. A complex system evolves and information relevant to prediction is produced that does not exist at an earlier stage. Not even an omniscient planner could offer reliable predictions
After listening to the Podcast I decided to purchase "Law, Legislation & Liberty", but I am on a budget. Is volume 1 alone worthwhile? Or should I look at getting both volumes? How do they compare?
I remember that day. managed to ramble and began all what a real a scientist. are all all what on me. I don't know