Does modern society have too many laws? Have we complicated legal codes to the point where we’re suffocating under them and grinding the government to a screeching halt?
Philip Howard and Greg LaBlanc discuss the balance between rigid rules and human discretion, the importance of human judgment in law, and how legal micromanagement and excessive regulation curtails individual agency and practical wisdom.
Read MoreThe roiling waters around Biden’s candidacy reflect a broad fear of handing the election to Trump. Like most in the free world, we share that fear. But we think Democrats need more than a candidate with mental acuity.
Democrats need a candidate who can begin to deal with the problems that gave rise to Trump. He sees that America has been weakened by internal guilt and indecision, and by an unwillingness to fix what’s broken. Democrats need to pull their heads out of the sand and address obvious weaknesses.
Here is what we think America needs to become strong again.
Read MoreIs America’s governing framework hindering our ability to make simple choices in daily life? American Law Institute President David F. Levi sits down with Philip Howard to discuss his new book.
They’re joined by Judge Edith Jones and Nicholas Bagley for a lively conversation that explores Howard’s critique of complex legal structures and their impact on our sense of agency. They delve into the book’s central theme of "everyday freedom" and how simplifying legal frameworks can empower individuals and revitalize society.
Read MoreIs America’s governing framework hindering our ability to make simple choices in daily life? American Law Institute President David F. Levi sits down with Philip Howard to discuss his new book. They’re joined by Judge Edith Jones and Nicholas Bagley for a lively conversation that explores Howard’s critique of complex legal structures and their impact on our sense of agency.
Read MoreHow to fix government?
Where to begin?
[Joe Klein and John Ellis] talked to Philip Howard about this very subject, because he’s studied it as much anyone and because he has realistic answers to both questions.
If you haven’t heard of Philip Howard, the best way to “hear about” him is to buy his books. We recommend starting with “The Death of Common Sense” and his latest work, “Everyday Freedom.”
Read MoreJoe Klein and John Ellis talk to Philip Howard about broken government, and where to begin to fix it.
Read MoreAmerican government is suffering a breakdown of authority. It is unable to give permits for transmission lines and housing, deal with homelessness, fix broken schools, or even fire a civil servant who doesn’t show up for work.
Red tape has supplanted official responsibility.
The accretion of detailed codes, procedures and regulations among numerous agencies at federal, state and local levels are like layers of sediment that have silted over a harbor. It’s hard to get anywhere because it’s basically unlawful to make sensible decisions.
Read MorePublic sector unions wield outsized influence over American government. That power prevents effective managerial control and fosters cynicism toward democratic processes. Successful statutory reforms to address outsized union power are unlikely because of the political resources amassed by these unions. To combat the influence of public sector unions, which serve their own interests instead of the common good, this brief explores five possible constitutional challenges that might dislodge union controls and weaken their grip on power.
Read MoreNow that No Labels has abandoned its third party bid, Mitt Romney has called for it to offer political support to whichever party is willing to accept centrist influence on its governing team—to “help promote the interests of Americans-at-large above those of the rabid partisans.”
America could certainly use some “sensible middle voices” in Washington, but centrism doesn’t get to the heart of the problem. The radical fervor on both sides is driven by a broad and growing sentiment of brokenness. Americans feel buffeted by forces beyond their control, while government fails and flounders.
Francis Fukuyama talks with Philip Howard about Everyday Freedom, and how the law has weakened the authority of government in ways that make us less free.
Read MoreEveryday Freedom calls on individuals, families, and communities to exercise newfound authority in the pursuit of flourishing lives. By the last page, the book acts as a mirror, staring back at readers with a challenging question: Are we ready to live up to the responsibilities of such freedom?
Read MorePhilip Howard talks with Meghna Chakrabarti about the crisis of human disempowerment, and how re-empowerment could lead to a national flourishing.
Read MoreLook at American culture. Something basic is missing. Americans know it. Nothing much works as it should. Simple daily choices seem fraught with peril. In the workplace, we walk on eggshells. Big projects—say, modernizing infrastructure—get stalled in years of review. Endemic social problems such as homelessness become, well, more endemic. Oh, there goes San Francisco. Doing what’s right is not on the table. Who’s to say what’s right? Extremism grows.
Powerlessness has become a defining feature of modern society. Americans at all levels of responsibility feel powerless to do what they think is needed.
Read MoreHere we are, led like sheep into an election to choose whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump should lead America at this perilous time. A clear majority disfavor the choice. Nor do the hot buttons of political debate between woke progressives vs. right wing conspiracists align with the views of most Americans.
Out in the real world, nothing much about government works as it should, with porous borders, broken schools, and homeless encampments. The list is long. Mandatory speech codes and other indignities of the nanny state fuel growing resentment.
Read MoreAccording to a 2020 survey, about two-thirds of Americans share basic values—including truthfulness, treating people equally, respecting common interests over party affiliation, and a desire for leaders to bring Americans together. Instead, the research group More in Common found, this “exhausted majority” is shoved into competing voting blocs by a relatively small number of extremists on both sides.
The disproportionate influence of extremists stems in part from a definitional bait-and-switch.
Much of the answer lies in Everyday Freedom, a powerful and succinct new book by Philip Howard. As liberals ushered in a wave of fundamental changes to individual freedom and equality beginning in the 1960s — one of the great achievements in human history — they rightly sought to constrain the power of government to impinge on individual rights.
Read MoreSometimes it feels like American culture is going through the spin cycle of a washing machine. Facts aren’t facts (“stop the steal”). Free speech means speech codes. Nondiscrimination means discrimination. Rights are a sword against others’ rights. Achievement is unfair. Human judgment is judgmental. Individuality is identity. Tradition is suspect. The rule of law is a minefield of legal risks, not a framework for social trust. Freedom is compliance.
Finding our balance is hard, especially when centrifugal forces have spun many Americans into opposing camps that loathe each other.
Americans now know the Democratic and Republican nominees for president. But there are eight months to go before the election. How will the media fill that time?
We have a suggestion: Let’s talk about how to fix broken government. What’s needed, say, to deal with infrastructure, or homelessness, or healthcare red tape, or, especially, lousy schools?
Fixing each of those areas of public failure is not rocket science, in our view. What’s required, however, is to change the operating system—to re-empower people in charge to make decisions instead of slogging through red tape.
Americans have lost confidence in America. It’s not hard to see why. Broken schools, unaffordable health care, homelessness, decrepit infrastructure, and student mobs at universities readily come to mind.
The last three presidents have come to office promising “change we can believe in,” to “drain the swamp,” or to “build back better,” but government institutions seem beyond their control.
Pundits blame political polarization. But most public failures have little to do with policy or politics: They’re failures of execution.
Read MoreIn his discussion with Adam Epstein, Philip Howard discusses his latest book, Everyday Freedom, which argues that the post 1960’s legal framework which has guided government policy for 60 years has been a failure.
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