Overview

The Age of Foolishness is a doubter's guide to current lawyerly thinking about all things related to constitutionalism in a democracy. This book offers a thorough-going skeptical critique of the views that dominate our legal caste, including in law schools and among judges, and place too much weight on judges to resolve important social policy disputes and too little on democratic politics. The author argues that politics matters in a way that our legal orthodoxy often downplays.

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9781680537871

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The first principle of morality, according to Pascal, is thinking clearly. That's hard to do in recondite legal debates on human rights law and democracy where the concepts are slippery and constantly change. Fortunately, here is a map for the maze from Professor James Allan, who thinks clearly, lays out controversies with admirable fairness, and delivers persuasively lucid verdicts. Key test: he tells you enough to beat him in argument. So try! - John O'Sullivan CBE, President, Danube Institute; Editor-at-Large, National Review; Director of 21st Century Initiatives and Senior Fellow, National Review Institute What are lawyers for: is it to ensure that the law is fairly applied so that everyone gets justice according to law; or is to invent new law to favor some groups over others? And is it parliament that is sovereign, or is it judges? James Allan argues a strong case for the former. After all, why should the values and instincts of one professional caste trump those of democratically elected politicians? Bravo! - Tony Abbott, former Prime Minister of Australia

Author Information

James Allan is the Garrick Professor in Law at the University of Queensland, in Australia. He has published in leading constitutional and legal philosophy law journals and writes for The Spectator, Australia, The Australian, Quadrant, Law & Liberty, The National Post, among others.

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