Overview
General rules are a versatile resource for intellectual power, of which modern legal rules are a subset, constitutions being a further subset of legal rules. Rules, Laws, Constitutions is the overarching concept explored in this collection of original essays that examines the significance of rules and laws, both in cognition and social existence, and their importance, along with that of constitutions, in large societies and politics. The contributors review some of the historical experiences with general rules, legal codes, and constitutionalism-especially in Europe, China, and India-to provide a basis for forming judgments on these crucial issues in the years ahead. They argue that rules, laws, and constitutions are desirable and explore the terrain around these ideas at multiple levels. Among the issues explored are their historical provenance and analogues, the dilemmas and difficulties associated with them, and contemporary experiences at working with and disseminating these ideas. The book provides a broad understanding of the underlying concepts, both historically and comparatively, while simultaneously addressing urgent issues of contemporary policy relevance.
Rules, Laws, Constitutions will be of interest to professors and students in law, political science, public administration, sociology, and history.