Preface By the American Editor

A Memoir of Sir William Blackstone

Blackstone’s concept of law (first principles → English legal tradition)

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Scope note. In the 1765 Commentaries, Book I: Of the Rights of Persons contains 18 chapters, and it ends at Chapter XVIII: Of Corporations.

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Main thesis (what “law” is, and why it binds)

• Law is a rule of action. It presupposes a superior who has the right to command, and an inferior who owes obedience.
• All law is ultimately derived from the law of the Creator. Human laws are legitimate only insofar as they do not contradict the higher law (the “law of nature” as discoverable by reason and, where given, by revelation).
• Municipal (civil) law is the rule a political society establishes for itself, enforced by the sanctions of the state, to secure civil peace, liberty, and property.
• The English constitution is treated as an historically-developed, balanced form of government, in which:
  • the people’s liberties are secured by known, public rules,
  • powers are distributed across institutions,
  • and the administration of justice is constrained by procedure and precedent.

What this implies for governance and public good

• Legitimacy depends on rule by law, not by will. Government is justified when it protects the basic rights of persons and channels power through accountable offices.
• Liberty is “civil liberty,” meaning freedom under known law, not freedom from law.
• The “common law method” (custom, precedent, jury trial, due process) is a moral and civic teacher: it makes right and wrong publicly knowable through stable rules and adjudication.

Introduction: Study, nature, and extent of the laws of England

Section I. On the Study of the Law

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It means: studying law helps people be better citizens by teaching them how society’s rules work, how to think carefully about decisions, and how to protect freedom through fair rules.1

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The Thinking Public’s Guide to the Admin State (Without the Headache)

Why Public Administration is not “next to” Administrative Law. It is the real-world stage where it happens.

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In one sentence: Public Administration is how government gets things done. Administrative Law is how we make sure it gets things done fairly, lawfully, and with reasons.

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