Subjects and Citizens: The Possibility Condition Law and Democracy
Update: 2025-07-05
Description
There's a powerful idea in the history of European legal and political thought: that laws must be possible for people to follow. Annabel Brett, professor of Political Thought and History at Cambridge University, describes how from ancient times through the Renaissance, thinkers believed that demanding the impossible—whether physically or psychologically—was a hallmark of tyranny. A classic example is Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus, who ordered the Israelites to make bricks without straw. Brett analyzes how legal thinkers balanced the need for law to be both realistic and aspirational, and how these ideas shaped the development of modern legal systems. Brett is joined by Princeton University's Melissa Lane for commentary. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 40429]
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