By the late, great Petr Beckmann. On Amazon, and online here. “A collection of subversive jokes from the Soviet Union.”
Interesting article on Mises Wire: “A Tale of Two Legal Systems: Common Law and Statutory Laws,” by Ugo Stornaiolo S.:
It was the best of the laws, it was the worst of the laws, it was built on freedom, it was built on power, it was the spontaneous order of organic social institutions, it was the deliberate order of ideology and coercion, it was a stream of jurisprudence guiding us to justice, it was a tangle of statutes pushing us to restriction.
In short, law, either jurisprudence or legislation, can only be understood by comparison, and adapting the introduction of A Tale of Two Cities, we see two systems, common and civil law, and gaps in freedom between them.
He quotes my article “Legislation and Law in a Free Society.” See also the longer version, “Legislation and the Discovery of Law in a Free Society,” in Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Houston, Texas: Papinian Press, 2023); and related comments from Hoppe, e.g. at n.152 of this chapter.
[From my Webnote series]
I recently had conversation with some fellow libertarians about how to interpret the governing rules of a given organization, and whether members of the group who receive information submitted to them are free to release this information publicly. I pointed out that the organization’s Bylaws don’t say we cannot release this information, to which someone else said it doesn’t say we can, either. I responded that the general rule is that we don’t live by permission; all that is not forbidden is permitted. In response, someone argued that this reasoning sounds like the excuse the state uses, for example when the US Government argues that its power is basically plenary, despite the enumerated powers structure of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment, because of the interstate commerce clause in effect granting it broad legislative powers—an interpretation we libertarians usually criticize and reject. [continue reading…]
I’m attending what looks to be a fascinating legal conference next week, “The Louisiana Civil Code of 1825: Content, Influences and Languages; Past and Future,” LSU Law Center, March 20–21, 2025. 1 Somewhat to my surprise, I’m looking forward to it. Let me splain. (Note: I realize this post may come across as narcissistic or self-absorbed to some; I don’t care; in this case, it’s not for you. Some people are interested in this, others not. And one purpose of my blogging like this is to create posts that in effect can serve as searchable notes or “footnotes” for later use. 2 So avert thine eyes if you don’t like it…) [continue reading…]
- Steve Sanoski, “LSU Law hosting international legal conference to celebrate the Bicentennial of Louisiana Civil Code of 1825 on March 20-21,” LSU Law (March 11, 2025); program. [↩]
- Blog Posts as Footnotes–Webnotes; Grok conversation. [↩]
I just came across some correspondence with Bryan Garner from 1993, who is by now a well known expert on legal writing, style, and related matters. (His books include his first book, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, and many others, such as Garner’s Modern English Usage, Black’s Law Dictionary, The Elements of Legal Style, etc.) I met Bryan when he conducted a legal writing seminar for new lawyers in my firm, Jackson Walker, in 1992, shortly after he founded is firm Lawprose. I corresponded with him a bit, in part about my upcoming article “A Civil Law to Common Law Dictionary,” La. L. Rev. 54 (1994), which I later turned into a book, Louisiana Civil Law Dictionary (2011).
When we met, I believe we discussed how there is redundancy in language, e.g., how you write on a check “$100” and “One hundred and no/100 dollars.” Some criticize this, but there is a reason for this redundancy. In my letter I noted: [continue reading…]
Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Houston, Texas: Papinian Press, 2023) has been translated into Portuguese as Fundamentos Legais de uma Sociedade Livre (forthcoming 2025), by Rick Theu and VAP of the Instituto Hoppe (Brasil). The book has been divided into two voluments: Vol. 1 (Parts I–III; pdf) and Vol. 2 (Parts IV–VI; pdf).
According to the publisher (and as also noted in the Publishers note below), “there is still some revision to be done (some of the footnotes need to be corrected—some are referencing the wrong pages, some could reference the corresponding Portuguese edition of the works that have already been translated, etc.).” I will post updated files when received. I append below Hoppe’s Foreword and my Preface.
The Publisher’s note is included below. I wish to make one correction. They write “The work of translation is always thankless.” Not true: they have my gratitude and appreciation. 1 It is always a pleasure to encounter others with a passion to help spread the ideas of liberty. [continue reading…]
- I am reminded of my correspondence with the late, great Dr. Petr Beckmann in the 1990s (see various posts here). I had proposed writing a treatment of some of his ideas on nuclear power and asked his permission; he replied that I had not only his permission but his gratitude. Also, as I pointed out to the translators here: my comment above was more jocular—just an excuse to express gratitude. As I pointed out to him, in my 1994 review of Hoppe, jokingly wrote this: “18. Hoppe dedicates the volume to Murray N. Rothbard, stating that ‘words cannot express my personal gratitude.’ Economics and Ethics xi. Of course (I point out in jest), by using words to express his personal gratitude Hoppe contradicts himself by stating that words cannot express his gratitude.” I was being cheeky. I removed this comment from the version in my book … ch. 22 of Legal Foundations of a Free Society. [↩]
Podcast (kinsella-on-liberty): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:26 — 84.2MB)
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 455.
I interviewed/had a discussion with my first IP law boss today, William C. (Bill) Norvell, Jr., about our time together when I was a new lawyer, his love of opera and so on, and his views on politics, war, Trump, and his views on the patent and IP system based on his years of experience as a patent prosecutor and patent ligitator. Bill, previously a parter with my former firm Jackson Walker, is now retired from Akerman. [continue reading…]
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