How Modern Law Makes Us Powerless

In Today's Wall Street Journal. An op-ed peice by Philip K. Howard.

"Here we stand, facing the worst economy since the Great Depression, and Americans no longer feel free to do anything about it. We have lost the idea, at every level of social life, that people can grab hold of a problem and fix it. Defensiveness has swept across the country like a cold wave. We have become a culture of rule followers, trained to frame every solution in terms of existing law or possible legal risk. The person of responsibility is replaced by the person of caution. When in doubt, don't."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123293018734014067.html