ABSTRACT
The philosophers of law in the nineteenth century finally defined it as rules regulating the conduct of persons towards others, applicable to an unknown number of future instances and containing prohibitions delimiting the boundaries of the protected domain of all persons and organized groups. Deprived of all power of discretionary coercion, government might, of course, still discriminate in rendering services – but this would be less harmful and could be more easily prevented. Both a legislature confined to laying down general rules and a governmental agency which can use coercion only to enforce the general rules which it cannot change can resist such pressure. But once central government possesses no power of the discriminatory coercion, most services could be and probably should be delegated to regional or local corporations competing for inhabitants by providing the better services at the lower costs.
