As a libertarian who doesn’t like what the lawyers have done to our precious Constitution, I find the idea surprisingly attractive. Perhaps this parallel exchange might illustrate why.

David Hume once wrote to upbraid Adam Smith for not supporting a proposal to disestablish the Church of England. Hume pointed out that, according to Smith’s own economic principles, ending the tax subsidy would mean a wide variety of new and different churches would flourish, thus giving more of the public churches that satisfied people’s various tastes. Smith agreed that this would happen, but asked, “Would more and better religions really be a good thing? I think not.”

I’m not sure that more and better legal services are a good thing either.