Coda

I am very grateful to the participants in this series for both their careful reading and their incisive analysis of my book.  They remind me that any critique of the government’s performance must take account of how difficult many of its tasks are (Professor Coglianese); that many of government’s perversities occur and endure because they benefit some organized interest (Professors Melnick and Schlozman); and that my book is perhaps unduly pessimistic (Professor Huber). As a bonus, I also gained some intriguing information about the Homestead Act (from Professor Garnett) and the Grand Canyon (from Professor Nagle). I urge the readers of this series to give serious attention to the excellent comments of these outstanding scholars. To have received their sustained attention and scrupulous reading of my work is a splendid and rewarding gift.

These remarks conclude The Regulatory Review’s seven-part series, Is Government Prone to Fail?

Peter H. Schuck is the Simeon E. Baldwin Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School and the author of Why Government Fails So Often: And How It Can Do Better (Princeton University Press), among many other books. His current project is a book tentatively entitled Five Hard Issues and How to Think About Them (Princeton University Press), analyzing the issues of immigration, affirmative action, poverty, campaign finance, and religious accommodation.