Duelling Legal Systems

Julian Sanchez | December 26, 2004

When F.A. Hayek wanted to illustrate the distinction between two forms of rationalism, the "constructivist" variety he considered so harmful and the "critical" (evolutionary, piecemeal) sort of which he approved, his exemplars of each type were the legal systems of France and Britain, respectively. So fans of the Caliph of Catallaxy, as well as our more straightforwardly misogallic readers, may be interested in this Legal Affairs piece, which looks at the scholarly debate over statistical evidence that countries whose legal systems are rooted in British common law tend to fare better than those based on the French civil code.