The Soul of Justice

Law has the task of securing us against the abuse of power, but it also creates new opportunities and resources for such abuse. The only effective solution to this problem, according to Bentham, lay in publicity, the most robust and comprehensive system of public oversight of public power in all its forms. Security against misrule was his mantra and his singular aim; publicity was his most powerful tool. Law’s ruling, Bentham argued, ultimately depends upon the spirit, intelligence, vigilance, intrepidity, energy, and perseverance of the public. Public opinion can work its constraining magic only if at every point the exercise of governmental power is public. In his extended discussion of securities against misrule, we have a sustained, articulated exploration of the necessary infrastructure of the rule of law. Bentham analyzed the background conditions and engineered the supporting institutions needed for a comprehensive and effective architecture of accountability. He enlisted every kind of device and facility he could imagine for this purpose. Laws requiring all kinds of openness and disclosure of governmental actions were among these devices, but he also thought about the physical and social structures of public spaces. He was an engineer and architect of publicity.