Levmore on Simple Rules

Abstract

In 1995, the Harvard University Press published my book Simple Rules for a Complex World, which set out my world view on a wide range of substantive issues related to, on the private side, the law of property, contract, tort, and restitution; and on the public side, the law of eminent domain and taxation. The framework that I developed in that book relies on key private law baselines to assess, among other things, the efficiency and desirability of various forms of legislation that play off these common law rules dealing with environmental law, land use regulation, and labor law. Saul Levmore poses a thousand questions about if and how the scheme can work but displays at the end of the day some sympathy with my approach, which he thinks corresponds to the many public choice issues to which his own career has been deeply involved. It is impossible to respond to all his wellaimed sallies at this occasion, so I shall try to tease out why I think that the discipline of simple rules continues to survive, notwithstanding his staccato-like criticisms.