A Rule of Law for Our New Age of Anxiety

In an age of anxiety, Toope makes the case for a revitalised rule of law to bolster collective resilience and restore our capacity to build healthier societies.

Stephen J Toope (Author)

9781009299459, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 June 2023

250 pages
23.6 x 15.9 x 2.1 cm, 0.58 kg

'That an ideal can be at once modest and precious is a thought too rarely entertained. This intelligent, humane and wide-ranging work shows that the rule of law, conceived as a community of 'anchoring [legal] practices - a constellation of ideas, discourses and concrete actions' rather than just an instrument of power, can be both. Modest because it is only one practice among many; precious as indispensable foundation for the best of the others. A welcome tonic for an 'age of anxiety'.' Martin Krygier, AM Gordon Samuels Professor of Law and Social Theory, UNSW Sydney and Senior Research Fellow, CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest

Taking Auden's Age of Anxiety as a leitmotiv and drawing on literature from law, philosophy, political theory, international relations, and sociology, Toope argues with passion that a renewed faith in the rule of law can address troubling developments in our own anxious times: populist nationalism; globalisation; and disruptive technologies with their dominating platforms. We can address anxiety by bolstering social resilience, drawing upon a plural intellectual heritage. That heritage reveals a unique type of 'authority' in society, 'epistemic practical authority' built up continuously through social discourse and action, shifting focus from the state of 'being' to the dynamic of 'becoming.' What is law's role in this world? The modest, yet powerful, version of the rule of law advocated here is one that draws on a wellspring of practical wisdom - prudence gleaned from pragmatic experience. It chastens power, while not disconnecting law from other sources of social action and human agency.

Introduction
Part I. Uncertainty, Risk and Anxiety: 1. Our Age of Anxiety
2. Populism and Nationalism
3. The Confounding Diversity of Globalisation
4. The Rise of Disruptive Technologies and Dominating Platforms
Part II. Our Inheritance of Thought and Action: Addressing our Anxiety
5. Practical Wisdom and Pragmatism
6. Social Practices, Background Knowledge and Law
Part III. A Modest 'Rule of Law' Helps Frame a Healthier Society: 7. The Bases of Law and Challenges to Legalism
8. Interactional Law and the Rule of Law
9. Lawyers, Practice and Legal Education
Conclusion: That A Beginning Be Made.

Subject Areas: Jurisprudence & general issues [LA], International relations [JPS], Social theory [JHBA], Social & political philosophy [HPS]