Restricted rule of law beats rule without law

Evidence

Still, for the administered individual, pluralistic administration is far better than total administration. One institution might protect him against the other; one organization might mitigate the impact of the other; possibilities of escape and redress can be calculated. The rule of law, no matter how restricted, is still infinitely safer than rule above or without law. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 233

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels in the reader’s corpus: the Milgrom law-merchant material and Bernstein’s extralegal trade show how even restricted formal structures ground security. — connects to: A ruling party exercises hegemonic power without formal juridical rule — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 944; Sovereignty produces a will to law rather than a rule of law — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 418; Fixed legal rules beat discretionary state power even when imperfect — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 135 (+1 more)
• QUESTION: How does this constrained defense of pluralism square with Marcuse’s overall rejection of liberal capitalism — is this the residual liberalism the broader thesis critiques?

Broader Connections

• A ruling party exercises hegemonic power without formal juridical rule #contradicts (0.85) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 944
• Sovereignty produces a will to law rather than a rule of law #contradicts (0.78) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 418