Rules by Andrew D.

In Deborah Stone’s chapter this week she discusses Rules. How they work, what makes for good ones, and how they are implemented in the Polis.
Basically, rules work as indirect commands stated once to the general people to whom they apply, rather that to an individual in a particular situation where a certain rule may apply. They gain their power through their image of legitimacy, and this is when they work best. Generally, rules have two parts; they dictate what must be done in certain situations or contexts. They do this by classifying; creating differences and in turn, consequences of those differences. Rules include and exclude people and their ac tivities and therefore establish two groups; the privileged and nonprivileged.
Good rules are made by having a balance of precision and flexibility. In regards to precision, rules must: ensure that like cases are treated alike, protect people from the prejudices and personal opinions of officials, and provide predictability (by telling people what is allowed and what will happen if the rules are broken). I especially liked the quote, “Being able to choose one’s actions with knowledge of the consequences is part of what we mean by freedom.” On the other hand, vague rules can be flexible and allow sensitivity to differences. However, they then require individuals with knowledge and expertise of local conditions to choose how to carry out the general goals. The ideal would be to have an optimum social balance, but this is of course impossible because of the differing context of every situation as earlier mentioned.
Stone also mentions other unattainable ideals, such as, the perfectly precise rule, the perfectly flexible rule, the perfectly enforced rule and the neutral rule. The perfectly enforced rules are highly related to precise rules, in that consequences would be almost automatic and require no discretion from an official. A neutral rule would be a rule that affects everybody the same and thus creates no advantages or disadvantages. While none of these can be achieved, they provide models for us to follow and strive for.
Finally, the chapter talks about how rules are made and used in the Polis. Problems in the Polis are often too complex for rules to be perfectly detailed, as a result rules are usually purposefully vague in order to please many. But a rule can never please everyone in the Polis, a rule of such flexibility would have to be so vague, that it really wouldn’t be a rule at all. Rules in the Polis can never be perfectly enforced. Enforcers are usually people that are influenced by other things besides their official responsibilities. And because rules are never perfectly precise, and often too many violations to handle, enforcers use their rule of thumb to decide consequences.
In the Polis, the power of rules is achieved through their legitamcy, which is gained through their goal to attain perfectly precise, perfectly enforced, and neutral rules. Such rules, would ensure that every individual receives their due. But at the same time, individuals demand their government to pay attention to particular context and thus informal, flexible rules help connect the two requirements.