The ancient Athenians had the basic laws written down for public display. They fit on wooden tablets attached to rotating devices, kind of like lazy Susans. The idea of a law library, with every law written down and put into books, would have astonished them.
To them, law was custom. Their word nomos covered both ideas: law and custom. To them, it was same idea.
A lawless person had no respect for custom, the mores of the community. His vision of the world was at odds with the community’s. The idea is similar to one championed by Iris Murdoch.
I’ve been following the news of Alex Jones and his business Infowars, which is being liquidated to pay damages to people it harmed. The courts set damages at $1.4 billion, which reflects a lot of harm done, repeatedly and recklessly.
Traditionally, U.S. courts have allowed people to hold silly, crazy and harmful ideas because every human being, at one time or another, holds such ideas. The law steps in only when someone acts on those ideas and harms others.
The problem with the traditional thinking is that it’s now possible to make millions by publishing poisonous visions of how the world works. It’s also possible to do so much damage that the line between civil and criminal acts get blurry. How much damage does one have to do before an act becomes a crime, rather than a cause for civil action?
I’m trying to imagine what the ancient Athenians would have done with someone like Jones, someone whose vision of the world is so far removed from those of most citizens.
The Athenians had various procedures for exiling people, which intrigues me. Of all the immigrants that federal officials are rounding up and deporting, I haven’t heard of one who has been found responsible for so much harm as a fellow who claims to be a patriot.
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