Even the most private decisions presuppose and are shaped by prior institutional arrangements.

Evidence

Shall I “marry” this girl? The very question presupposes the institution of marriage with all its manifold consequences in personal and property relationships. Shall I leave her all my worldly goods after I die? What are “my” goods? The answer implicates the entire institution of private property. What have I to say about who gets my property when I die? The problem would not exist if it were not for the statute of wills. Shall I go hunting today? Where may I hunt? What kinds of birds or animals may I kill? Must I do it with bow and arrow or may I bear a firearm? Do I need a hunting license? On all these questions, in most modern societies, the group has something to say to the individual which bears on the decision he makes. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 949

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the foundational claim that private choice is constituted by institutional context (marriage, property, wills, hunting regulation).
• XREF: Resonates with how institutions channel individual action across the polyad courses. — connects to: Any private decision can be converted into a group appeal. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 945; Private and official decisions mutually constitute each other in a non-linear loop. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 953