Saturday, January 10, 2009

Will 1/11/09

Litigation Nation


My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: The proportion of lawyers in the workforce has doubled since the 1970's but the courts have gotten worse. It is not only the proliferation of lawsuits but what the fear of lawsuits have done to society that we should be concerned about.

Quote:
Time was, rights were defensive. They were to prevent government from doing things to you. Today, rights increasingly are offensive weapons wielded to inflict demands on other people, using state power for private aggrandizement.


My Views: An enthusiastic "Amen" to this. Everywhere we go we have to pay more and endure stupid rules and warnings just because people fear lawsuits. How come I can't get hot coffee, anymore? How come the doctors do all that "defensive medicine"? We're less free than before and we pay more than we should because of the overly litigious society we've wrought.




George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.

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