Harvard Law School Professor Adrian Vermeule has published a new book entitled “Law and the Limits of Reason,” describing how limitations on human reasoning affect governing bodies.
Vermeule argues that because of these limitations, large modern legislatures with diverse memberships and complex internal structures are the most effective lawmaking institutions.
Vermeule also applies his theory to the current economic crisis: “A small group of unelected bureaucrats effectively sets policy. The group includes Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary, and Ben Bernanke, the chair of the Federal Reserve. Is it desirable for major questions of economic policy to be decided by a small group of people?”
Read Vermeule’s response in this blog post.
Last summer, Vermeule presented his work to a group of scholars in France (webcast).