The rule of law

Many political theorists view the rule of law with suspicion. On the one hand, it can appear mere political rhetoric. For example, politicians habitually invoke the doctrine to suggest that any failure to comply with decisions made within the current political system leads to anarchy and the end of law. Opponents must play by the rules of the game and, when they lose, obey the winners. So employed, it operates as a self-serving ideological device whereby governments assert the legitimacy of all their actions. As Judith Shklar has remarked, it seems unnecessary to waste intellectual effort ‘on this bit of