Fixed legal rules beat discretionary state power even when imperfect

Evidence

As far as possible government activity should be limited by the rule of law. Government action can be made predictable only when it is bound by fixed rules. Tasks which require that authorities be given discretionary powers should therefore be reduced to the indispensable minimum. But it must be recognized that each extension of the power of the state gradually erodes the minimum basis for the maintenance of a free society. In general an automatic mechanism of adjustment, even where it functions imperfectly, is preferable to any which depends on “conscious” direction by government agencies. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 135

Categorization

• DEFINE: Captures the rule-of-law versus discretion distinction central to Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom and to ordoliberal governance theory.
• XREF: Echoes Hayek’s celebrated ‘rules versus commands’ argument, plus a ‘slippery slope’ claim about state power that becomes the core antistatism of later neoliberalism. — connects to: Restricted rule of law beats rule without law — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 233; Narrow concepts of legal validity fail to prevent official abuse of power — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 502; Delegated discretionary authority need not reduce freedom when properly constrained — Frank Lovett, Republicanism, 31 (+6 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 135

Broader Connections

• Restricted rule of law beats rule without law #corroborates (0.90) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 233
• Narrow concepts of legal validity fail to prevent official abuse of power #corroborates (0.80) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 502