A01=Barry Lam
arbitrary
Author_Barry Lam
Category=JB
Category=QDTQ
Category=QDTS
cop
crime
criminal justice
decision
decision-making
discretion
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eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
ethics
fair
hi-phi nation
judgment
justice
law
moral
morality
philosophy
police
power
prison
rules
unfair
Product details
- ISBN 9781324123354
- Weight: 143g
- Dimensions: 140 x 211mm
- Publication Date: 06 Jan 2026
- Publisher: WW Norton & Co
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Wherever there’s a rule, there is someone with the power to apply or ignore it—or add to it, in the interest of justice. From enforcing chores to issuing life sentences, decision-makers deliver flawed and sometimes arbitrary outcomes. But is their use of discretion good or bad overall? As a society, should we seek to minimise or maximise discretion, with all its potential for bias and other kinds of human error?
Reframing our understanding of justice and ethics, Barry Lam argues that while use of discretion can never be perfect, removing it has more problematic effects. Mandatory arrests and sentencing laws do not eliminate bias but corrupt the courtroom, institutionalise lying and bring about unjust and arbitrary results. Fewer Rules, Better People sheds new light on political debates about law and justice while preparing us for the imminent threat of discretion-less rule-enforcement by AI.
A Norton Short
Barry Lam is a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside, and the host and producer of the Hi-Phi Nation podcast for Slate, a show about the moral and philosophical issues implicated in science, law, and everyday life.
