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11 Harv. J. L. & Pub. Pol'y 713 (1988)
Freedom and the Law: A Comment on Professor Aranson's Article

handle is hein.journals/hjlpp11 and id is 733 raw text is: COMMENT FREEDOM AND THE LA W: A COMMENT ON PROFESSOR ARANSON'S ARTICLE LEONARD P. LIGGIO* TOM G. PALMER** Analysis of Bruno Leoni's work is integral for an understand- ing of recent developments in jurisprudence, especially in law and economics. Professor Leoni's work is one of the fountain- heads of this movement. Legal scholars of today should refresh themselves from the source, for Professor Leoni did far more than merely anticipate later developments; he offered cogent reasons for the incompatibility of legislation with the very free market preferred by exponents of the law and economics movement. Professor Leoni's deep knowledge ofjurisprudence and of legal, political, and economic history informed his work, and offers insights into the proper relationship between law, legislation, and liberty. In his contribution to this volume Professor Aranson offers a provocative and helpful reintroduction to Professor Leoni's scholarship in light of its continuation by other law and eco- nomics scholars. This essay intends to complement Professor Aranson's work by illuminating and emphasizing the impor- tance of certain central features of Professor Leoni's thought. Two topics are particularly relevant to a proper understanding of Professor Leoni's work. First, we shall recapitulate and apply Professor Leoni's arguments about the importance of an un- derstanding of economics for legal scholars, including his warnings about the incompatibility of the free market economy with legislation. Second, an examination of his view of legal evolution reveals a concept of law and its role in society differ- ent from that offered by advocates of legislation. In this com- ment, we show the interrelationships between Professor Leoni and the current law and economics movement, and his impact on that movement. * President, Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. ** Editor, Humane Studies Review, Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University.