Legal Systems Very Different from Ours

by David Friedman, Peter Leeson, David Skarbek

Overview

This book looks at 13 different legal systems, ranging from Imperial China to modern Amish: how they worked, what problems they faced, how they dealt with them. Some chapters deal with a single legal system, others with topics relevant to several, such as problems with law based on divine revelation or how systems work in which law enforcement is private and decentralized.

The book's underlying assumption is that all human societies face the same problems, deal with them in an interesting variety of different ways, and are all the work of grown-ups and hence should all be taken seriously. It ends with a chapter on features of past legal systems that a modern system might want to borrow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798987338001
Publisher:	David Friedman
Publication date:	01/09/2019
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	537,995
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

I am an academic economist recently retired after a career first as an economist and then as a law professor, despite having never taken a course for credit in either field; my undergraduate degree is in chemistry and physics, my doctorate in theoretical physics. My specialty for the past thirty some years has been the economic analysis of law, the subject of my book _Law's Order_. Insofar as I have a specialty as an author it is academic books targeted at the interested layman, the equivalent of a college course in a form that is fun to read.

Other interests include libertarianism, poetry, medieval cooking, historical recreation, science fiction and fantasy. I have published three novels. For more about me see my web page: www.daviddfriedman.com

Peter Leeson is the author of, among others, _The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates.

David Skarbek is the author of, among others, _The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System

Editorial Reviews

David Friedman has a fascinating book on alternative legal systems. One chapter focuses on prison law—not the nominal rules, but the rules enforced by prisoners themselves.

The unofficial legal system of California prisoners is particularly interesting because it underwent a phase change sometime after the 1960's.
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https://www.greaterwrong.com/posts/sYt3ZCrBq2QAf3rak/from-personal-to-prison-gangs-enforcing-prosocial-behavior - John Wentworth

David Friedman tells the stories of many real societies and their incredibly interesting legal systems. I stress their existence beacuse some of their systems are so different that I would sooner guess they were made up.
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I want to stress again that this is very interesting history in its own right (he covers pirate law!), and Friedman's analysis only makes it better

https://www.morebabble.com/posts/book-reviews/

Legal Systems Very Different From Ours covers how a range of societies and groups have solved those problems through their legal systems. In the process, Friedman prompts the reader to see beyond their own society and understand that what seems normal to us is not the only way to do things.
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This is now one of my favourite books.

https://www.rosieleizrowice.com/book-reviews - Rosie Leizrowice

Friedman's fans will appreciate the book's characteristic clarity, candor, and rationality.

https://reason.com/2019/04/21/what-inmates-the-amish-and-imperial-chinese-law-teach-us-about-relying-on-the-state/ - Michael Huemer

Friedman finds endless ingenuity and creativity among people trying to solve a wide range of social problems, sometimes in very harsh conditions and in very limiting cultural situations. Many legal institutions evolve as ways to reduce transaction costs, to reinforce group identity, or to enhance respect for social customs—whatever they may be in a given society.

https://cei.org/blog/best-books-of-2019-legal-systems-very-different-from-ours/ - Ryan Young