The Ugly Truth About The Law
I wanted to go to law school to find out what the rules were.
A few months ago, I was on Jordan Peterson’s podcast alongside
to discuss The Online Harms Act and how it affects our rights.This is a short clip from our conversation, where Peterson asks me what distinguishes me— in my training and outlook— from other legal academics.
My honest reply was: I don’t know.
“I’ve always been suspicious of government.”
I’ve always been suspicious of government, I said. I have been suspicious of government authority ever since I can remember.
Even when I was in public school, I remember thinking, ‘how awful to have this person in the front of the class who is not that smart, and yet, has power over me’.
Peterson pressed me further, pointing out that I had despite that, chosen to go to law school.
I wanted to go to law school, I replied, not first and foremost to be a lawyer.
I wanted to go to law school to find out what the rules were. So that when government authorities wanted to interfere with me, I could invoke the rules to make them back off.
What I discovered was, there are no such rules.
There are no rules, as it turns out, that make governments back off, because the system is designed to give them authority— over all of us. The law is based upon authority - not autonomy, liberty, justice, or even efficacy, but authority.
Bruce Pardy is executive director of Rights Probe and professor of law at Queen’s University.
Stay the course Bruce. Academics such as you , JP, et al, give us proles hope. Thank you.
Should there be a government at all? Should there be a state? If so, what should be its functions? Where their authority should end? If you have a vision, please share in a separate article. Thank you.