The Rule of Nobody

Reviews & Endorsements

“A road map for de-lawyering and rethinking the regulatory system.”
– Joe Klein, TIME

The Rule of Nobody contains one of the “best big ideas of 2014.”
– William O’Connor, The Daily Beast

One of the “most thought-provoking books of 2014.”
– Geoffrey James, Inc.

The Rule of Nobody details that “this is an era of general institutional decay. New, mobile institutions languish on the drawing board, while old ones are not reformed and tended. Executives at public agencies are robbed of discretionary power. Their hands are bound by court judgments and regulations. When the boring tasks of governance are not performed, infrastructures don’t get built. Then, when epidemics strike, people die.”
– David Brooks, New York Times

“Brilliant…social/political analysis… Philip Howard mounts a compelling case for rethinking, and then acting to change, the regulatory contours of many aspects of American society.”
– Marshall Kapp, The Gerontologist

“An important, provocative book.”
– Joan Baum, NPR’s WSHU

“Eloquent and levelheaded.”
– Myron Magnet, City Journal

“It is obvious that the current system of government is failing—higher expenses, increased waste, and little (if any) improvement. Reaching viable solutions has also become much more difficult than expected. Yet Philip K. Howard, in his book, The Rule of Nobody, accepts this challenge; he outlines the origins of our broken government and offers some practical solutions.”
– Alexis Carra, The University Bookman

Howard’s “central insight–that ordinary Americans can be trusted to behave responsibly–is a good starting place in reforming government.”
– Michael Barone, Washington Examiner

“The Rule of Nobody is even-handed in its politics, noting that right and left have saddled America with overly detailed regulations, under pressure from special-interest  lobbies (among them incumbents who see regulation as a useful barrier to new competition). One root of the problem is mistrust, Mr Howard suggests. Conservatives distrust public  employees and so seek to limit their powers of discretion. The left thinks that business bosses will run amok unless bound.”
– The Economist

“Howard has written a splendid book, as entertaining as it is alarming, about a serious problem. His learning is deep but lightly worn, and I cannot imagine how anyone could read it without responding enthusiastically to his call to arms.”
– F.H. Buckley, American Spectator

“Howard has a sweeping vision of reform, encompassing simplification of regulatory regimes, more reliance on officials’ sense of what is right in particular circumstances, and less rote judicial review. He suggests that Congress appoint special ‘spring cleaning’ commissions to help recodify the law in many fields, such as education and infrastructure approval.”
– Timothy B. Clark, Government Executive

The Rule of Nobody “is an entertainingly ghastly account of bureaucratic incompetence and individual paralysis as every part of life is codified.”
– Manuela Hoelterhoff, Bloomberg

“Philip K. Howard makes the counterintuitive case that much of the dysfunction in government stems not from an excess of authority, but from a deficit.”
– Kyle Peterson, Washington Times

Philip K. Howard presents a “convincing, provocative argument… Howard’s clear, levelheaded descriptions of how things are done elsewhere…proves his point: We really need to figure out a better way to operate, lest the country grind to a halt.”
– Jesse Singal, Boston Globe

“Philip Howard’s provocative new book, The Rule of Nobody, makes a compelling case that the maze of incoherent rules and regulations is strangling ingenuity, prosperity and effective governance in our Nation. Howard proposes bold, clear solutions to what ails us, including the sunsetting of obsolete law.”
– Governor Jeb Bush

“Philip Howard has been on a lonely crusade for common sense, good government, and other quixotic ideas. He’s done it again with The Rule of Nobody, an utterly compelling and persuasive book that, if followed, could change the way America works—or doesn’t work.”
– Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post American World

The Rule of Nobody “takes aim at the reasons government has, on important issues, ground to a halt… Howard’s book makes for sobering but important reading.”
– Seth Mandel, Commentary

“At least since his 1994 bestseller The Death of Common Sense, the New York lawyer, author, and founder/chairman of the reform group Common Good Philip K. Howard has been trying to rescue Americans from ever-denser laws, regulations, and litigation.”
– Robert Whitcomb, The Weekly Standard

“Rather than asking what’s right to do, Howard contends, government asks what the rulebook says to do. As a result, waste occurs, debt rises, schools fail, health-care costs soar, the economy falters—and even problems that seem simple and easy to solve become bureaucratic nightmares.”
– Alan Wallace, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“Howard’s proposed fix is witty, and intriguing: a follow-up to the Bill of Rights called the Bill of Responsibilities. These would be five new Constitutional amendments aimed at making government work better.”
– Kyle Smith, New York Post

“Philip K. Howard’s important new book… helps to explain why government at all levels not only is on autopilot but on a flight path that can only end in disaster… The Rule of Nobody ‘envisions a shift in values—away from automatic government and toward a structure that allows humans to make choices needed to adapt to local need and global challenges.’ Well, here’s hoping.”
– Nick Gillespie, The Daily Beast

Philip K. Howard “argues that the very structure of our democracy is…clogged by deep thickets of dysfunctional law.” The Rule of Nobody “drives home large truths.”
– Stuart Taylor, Jr., Wall Street Journal

“Government gridlock is not merely a product of polarized leadership… The problem is more systemic, rooted in outdated laws and special interest money that make change difficult, if not impossible.”
– Luke Johnson, Huffington Post

“Philip K. Howard has always struck me as an eminently reasonable, articulate advocate for common sense solutions. No wonder no one listens to him.”
– Jon Stewart, “The Daily Show”

“This book is so deep, appealing, and rousing that it has the potential to actually move politics out of its current stasis.”
– Christopher DeMuth, Hudson Institute

“Philip Howard offers a startlingly fresh slant on what is holding America back. No One is free to make choices, including, especially, government officials. Regulatory law has become a nearly impenetrable web of detailed prohibitions and specifications. Everyone is hamstrung. Dense regulation discourages individuals, communities, and companies from taking new initiatives. It also prevents government officials from making the case by case judgment needed for effective regulatory oversight. This is an important reason why it is so expensive to start a business, why healthcare costs have gone through the roof, and why innovation has slowed to a crawl.”
– Edmund S. Phelps, 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics

“It’s so damn hard to fix things when people can’t—or won’t—make new choices. This powerful book shows how Washington is sinking in legal quicksand, literally beyond the power of those supposedly ‘in charge.’ Perhaps the only solution, as Howard argues, is to prune out these obsolete laws and chop away on the bureaucracy so that citizens of common sense can roll up their sleeves and get to work again as America has always done. Today, leadership is practically illegal.”
– Alan K. Simpson, U.S. Senator, Wyoming (Retired)