The Arrow of the Law in Modern Administrative States: Using Complexity Theory to Reveal the Diminishing Returns and Increasing Risks the Burgeoning of Law Poses to Society

Abstract

This article is the third in my series of articles exploring the application of complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory to legal systems. Building on the model outlined in the first two installments (in the Duke and Vanderbilt law reviews), this work examines the "arrow" or direction of the legal system in the context of the administrative state. Drawing from diverse work such as Burke's study of history's nonlinearity and Tainter's classic study of the collapse of complex civilizations, we argue that the administrative state is becoming too resource intensive and burdened by a proliferation of rules.