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Conclusion
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Law_151-200.indd 22 10/27/09 8:07 AM CONCLUSION Ehap' the best procedure to follow in writing this conclusion is to try to reply to some of the questions that my readers would probably ask me if they could. In fact, I was asked such questions when the contents of this book were delivered as lectures. 1. What do I mean when I say (in chapter 8) that public opinion "is not everything"? 2. Is there any possibility ofapplying the "Leoni model" to present-day society? 3. Supposing that the above-mentioned possibility exists, how can the "golden rule" referred to here enable us to distinguish the area of legislation from the common-law area? What are the general boundaries of the domains to be respectively allotted to legislation and to the common law according to the model? 4. Who will appoint the judges or lawyers or other honoratiores of that kind? 5. If we admit that the general trend of present-day society has been more against individual freedom than in Javor of it, how could the said honoratiores escape the trend? Of course, we could take into consideration many other questions , but those mentioned above seem to be the salient points arising from a possible discussion of the whole matter. 1. What do I mean when I say (in chapter 8) that public opinion "is not everything"? As far as the first question is concerned, I maintain that not only may public opinion be wrong, but it may also be corrected by resorting to reasonable argument. True enough, this may be a long-drawn-out process. It took more 172 Law_151-200.indd 23 10/27/09 8:07 AM CONCLUSION 173 than a century for people to become acquainted with socialist ideas; it will certainly take a considerable time for them to reject these ideas, but this is no reason to give up the attempt. While the trend against individual freedom is still the prevailing one in countries comparatively undeveloped according to Western standards, it is already possible to realize from several symptoms that people have learned some lessons in those countries of the West in which the limitation of individual freedom through a corresponding expansion of enacted law, preached more or less openly by socialist leaders as a necessary condition for the advent of a "better world," has proved to be very little counter-balanced by the alleged advantages of such legislation. Today we can already observe, for instance, a recession of socialism in England, Germany, and possibly France, as far as the socalled nationalization of industry is concerned. It is obvious that as a result of this recession individual initiative in the economic field is being gradually liberated from the threat of further interference on the part of the government. Recent books, like that of an ex-Labourite in England, Mr. R. Kelf-Cohen, are rather illuminating in this regard. What is characteristic of the socialistic solution of the so-called social problem is not the end of promoting public welfare and eliminating, as far as possible, poverty, ignorance, and squalor, for this end is not only perfectly compatible with individual freedom , but may also be considered as complementary to it. The very core of the socialist solution is the peculiar way its supporters propose to reach that end, namely, by resorting to a host of officials acting in the name of the state and limiting accordingly, if not suppressing altogether, private initiative in economics as well as in several other fields that are inextricably connected with the economic domain. If socialism consisted chiefly, as many persons still believe, in its declared aims, it would probably be difficult to convince people to give it up in the near future. It is quite possible, on the other hand, to convince people that what is wrong with socialism is not its professed aims, but the means purportedly necessary for their achievement. The naivete of the socialist view as far as the means are concerned is really surprising. As the above-mentioned author points out, [54.84.65.73] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 02:19 GMT) Law_151-200.indd 24 10/27/09 8:07 AM 174 FREEDOM AND THE LAW There was magic in the words "public board" or "public corporation ." They were to be staffed by selfless men of outstanding ability, devoted to the national interest. We assumed that such men were to be found in large numbers; naturally they had no chance...