The Enterprise of Law
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
The Enterprise of Law
| Full title | The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State |
|---|---|
| Author | Bruce L. Benson |
| Published | 1990 |
| Pages | 397 |
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Benson’s record of law produced without a state monopoly — the medieval Law Merchant, Anglo-Saxon and early Icelandic customary law, and today’s commercial arbitration and private dispute resolution — and his comparative argument that customary law, shaped by the parties’ incentive to keep trading, may beat legislation shaped by whoever captures the legislature. |
Where I heard about it
- Brendan McCord — one of three entries in the short Anarcho-Capitalism section of his Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List, March 2026 — the limit case after liberalism, conservatism and Marxism, where the state’s core function is put out to tender. Full transcription: The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List.
Connections
- Institutions — the book’s unit of analysis: rules that evolve versus rules that are legislated.
- Decentralization — the organizing principle of the systems it documents.
- Government — the monopoly the book questions.
- The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List — the curriculum this came from.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.