scientific, common, natural, higher

These three words - scientific, common, natural, higher - are interchangeable prefixes of a type of law. Scientific Law, Common Law, Natural Law, Higher Law. These are all basically the same thing, and according to Richard Maybury, that thing is the exact opposite of our current legal system, Political Law.

I'm going to make this post short because I don't want to relay to you everything Maybury points out in Whatever Happened to Justice? - as if I could in one post, or possibly at all! - I simply want to reiterate some valuable points that I learned.

First and foremost, I want to state the two fundamental laws of civilization, two laws that no one in their right mind will disagree with, whatever their religious or cultural backgrounds. Richard Maybury has simplified the wording of these two laws down to 17 words:

1) Do all you have agreed to do, and
2) Do not encroach on other persons or their property.

There is some very interesting history on Common Law (or Scientific, or Natural, or Higher Law) that I can't wait to learn more about. For now, here are a few things that I didn't know about law. The first thing is that courts came before laws. Thinking on it, it makes sense. Maybury points out that law popped up during feudal eras when there was no government, only rich men oppressing poor men with serfdom. When the serfs had fights or brawls that they couldn't settle on their own, they went to clergymen, who were the most respected men at the time. The clergymen then used religious principles to decide the outcome of the quarrel.

This was the beginning of common law - first their were courts. The clergymen evolved into judges. The judges still used religious principles to decide verdicts. As time went on, they collected precedents to the judge similar cases with and eventually, through trial and error, they realized that there were two laws that all sane adults people agreed upon. Those laws were the law of contract and the law of torts - in other words, 1) Do all you have agreed to do, and 2) Do not encroach on other persons or their property. 

So simple! So simple. The tangled web of needless legislation (why is illegal to whistle under water in Vermont?) has become insane. I highly, highly, highly suggest reading this book, it introduces what the American legal system was based on and how far away from these principles our government has run.

This wasn't as short as I originally thought it was going to be. >.< Oh well. Okay, off to make dinner and reserve one of the seventy-something to-read books on economy, law, history, military, government or psychology that are waiting for me to read. :o

So, go and do what you agreed to do and don't encroach!
Much love,
- caroline