See You in Court

The Lost Art of Drawing the Line: How Fairness Went Too Far, by Philip K. Howard (Random House, 255 pp., $22.95)

Philip K. Howard’s book is a fine and important one in some ways, an unsatisfactory one in others. It tells a gruesome, hugely important story about America today. Howard is right about the problems: American society—and especially our public schools, race relations, and government bureaucracies— is in desperate trouble. He is right about the immediate cause: Crazed by power and greed, lawyers have gone ape and are holding the country hostage. He is also right about the root cause: Too many Americans are opposed to authority and morality on principle.

DG

About the Author

David Gelernter

The Lost Art of Drawing the Line: How Fairness Went Too Far, by Philip K. Howard (Random House, 255 pp., $22.95)

Philip K. Howard’s book is a fine and important one in some ways, an unsatisfactory one in others. It tells a gruesome, hugely important story about America today. Howard is right about the problems: American society—and especially our public schools, race relations, and government bureaucracies— is in desperate trouble. He is right about the immediate cause: Crazed by power and greed, lawyers have gone ape and are holding the country hostage. He is also right about the root cause: Too many Americans are opposed to authority and morality on principle.