In pursuit of fairness at any cost, we have created a society
paralyzed by legal fear: Doctors are paranoid and principals
powerless. Little league coaches, scared of liability, stop
volunteering. Schools and hospitals start to crumble. The common
good fades, replaced by a cacophony of people claiming their
“individual rights.”
By turns funny and infuriating, this startling book dissects the
dogmas of fairness that allow self-interested individuals to bully
the rest of society. Philip K. Howard explains how, trying to honor
individual rights, we removed the authority needed to maintain a
free society. Teachers don’t even have authority to maintain order
in the classroom. With no one in charge, the safe course is to
avoid any possible risk. Seesaws and diving boards are removed.
Ridiculous warning labels litter the American landscape: “Caution:
Contents Are Hot.”
Striving to protect “individual rights,” we ended up losing much
of our freedom. When almost any decision that someone disagrees
with is a possible lawsuit, no one knows where he stands. A huge
monument to the unknown plaintiff looms high above America, casting
a dark shadow across our daily choices. Today, in the land of free
speech, you’d have to be a fool to say what you really think.
This provocative book not only attacks the sacred cows of
political correctness, but takes a breathtakingly bold stand on how
to reinvigorate our common good. Only by restoring personal
authority can schools begin to work again. Only by judges and
legislatures taking back the authority to decide who can sue for
what can doctors feel comfortable using their best judgment and
American be liberated to say and do what they know is right. Lucid,
honest, and hard hitting, The Collapse of the Common Good shows how
Americans can bring back freedom and common sense to a society
disabled by lawyers and legal fear.