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[0] checkbox [#] position [cover] cover [title] title Law in America: A Short History [author] author Friedman, Lawrence M. [isbn] isbn 0812972856 [isbn13] isbn13 9780812972856 [asin] asin [num pages] num pages 224 pp [avg rating] avg rating 3.67 [num ratings] num ratings 138 [date pub] date pub 2002 [date pub (ed.)] date pub edition Oct 12, 2004 [rating] Lucas's rating 3 of 5 stars [my rating] my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves [notes] notes Notes are private! [recommender] recommender none [comments] comments 0 [votes] votes 0 [read count] # times read 1 [date started] date started Sep 12, 2010 [date read] date read Sep 19, 2010 [date added] date added Sep 19, 2010 [date purchased] date purchased [owned] owned [purchase location] purchase location [condition] condition [format] format Paperback [29] actions view [review] 
review The book is so short it's mostly generic overview with slightly more personality than you would find in a textbook, but what the book that has that is The book is so short it's mostly generic overview with slightly more personality than you would find in a textbook, but what the book that has that is more unique is pretty good. The most important point Friedman makes is the correspondence between the amount of law (where amount corresponds to the numbers of laws on the books, and also the number of lawyers and government agencies or percentage of GDP spent on their services) and increased demand for it. And the increased demand is a result of increase potential for conflict- the number of people an individual interacts with directly or indirectly has gone up greatly with increased wealth and technology and both correspond to increased freedom (Friedman doesn't mention technology or draw the line to freedom so explicitly but it's obviously connected). Some editorial follows on the superficial calls for 'smaller government', and the conclusion I see is that those who genuinely want a smaller government on the right are identical to the desire in some parts on the left for a poorer, more primitive, less populated, and lower quality of living state that has less negative impact on the environment. And we're unlikely to accomplish either if the other half is kept constant- though some massive economic decline caused by war, financial or environmental collapse could get us there inadvertently. ...more
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