Executors best serve policy aims by not reading general directions literally

Evidence

With respect to the first of the three arguments above stated, ask yourself whether human experience shows that a policy maker’s purposes are usually best served if those who have to carry out his policies always take his general expressions literally, without regard to the possibility of unexpressed or unanticipated qualifications. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 1994

Categorization

• QUESTION: Invites empirical whether literal execution best serves a policymaker’s purposes.
• XREF: connects to: An ‘acceptance final’ clause bars only quality-based rejections, not rejections for material breach — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 1698; Better drafting means clearer principle, not exhaustive special-case detail — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 2004; Silent presence of sanctioned authorities legitimizes abuse in the minds of executors (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Real agency requires executing plans, not just choosing them #expands (0.80) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 71
• Silent presence of sanctioned authorities legitimizes abuse in the minds of executors #expands (0.75)