The 84-year-old London-based historian Paul Johnson recently scared a burglar out of his house. The experience prompted a Forbes magazine column about the value of the rule of law.
Britain, like the U.S., is slowly recovering from its longest recession in over half a century. Five years of low interest rates, poor returns on capital and cuts in living standards have taken their toll, but civic discipline has remained high.
With one notable exception there has been no mass rioting. Serious crime has actually fallen, as has petty theft in city centers. The British people, despite immigration and high birth rates among new arrivals (which will make Britain’s the largest population in western Europe by midcentury), retain their reputation for obeying the law.
My little street, though near the center of London and in fashionable demand, is very quiet. There appears to be no crime, and an intruder comes as a shock. …
… My biggest regret is that I wasn’t quick enough to catch the man red-handed. But friends and neighbors say, “You’re 84 and aren’t as strong as you once were. He might have done you a serious injury. Count yourself lucky!”
They may be right. But I believe that in a law-abiding country the psychological advantage of having the law on your side is enormous. Most criminals, when caught, are only too ready to “go quietly,” submitting to the law. Indeed, throughout the incident I never felt the least flicker of fear; I was simply outraged at having my house invaded and broken into by force.
I rejoice at feeling these emotions. They arise from the experience of living under the rule of law, which we tend to take for granted. But it’s the most glorious of all civil feelings. As Margaret Thatcher used to say, it’s far more important than democracy itself. For living under the rule of law is the foundation of all our freedoms, and from it all our blessings flow.
