Quotation of the Day…

Tweet

… is from page 332 of Columbia University law professor Philip Hamburger’s brilliant 2014 book – whose title poses a question to which the book’s lengthy text gives the answer “yes” – Is Administrative Law Unlawful?:

A fundamental advantage of the separation of powers is that it institutionalizes specialized decisionmaking and thereby allows Americans to enjoy all of the advantages of distinct exercises of judgment, will, and force. A breakdown in the distinctions among the three powers was a fundamental part of what traditionally was understood as arbitrary or irrational decisionmaking. From this point of view, specialized decisionmaking is valuable for avoiding a type of arbitrary governance – a type encouraged by the administrative consolidation of powers.