however, I disagree on one point: because greed and the propensity to violence exist, governments must be dirigiste to a degree if there is to be a stable society. Since economics is not much use for forecasting the effects of policy, they should forget economics and concentrate on policies designed to protect assets and encourage social cohesion, relying on human self-interest to mitigate any economic effects.
Most economics isn't even astrology: it is a cargo cult (act as if something is true and this will somehow make it so).
*To be fair to Gorbachev, he did actually point out that Soviet economics didn't work before 1990, whereas governments are still able to be in denial about Capitalist economics - till the resources start to run out.
The job of the prosecutor is to prepare and present the prosecution case. The prosecutor should have NO input into sentencing at all. It should entirely be down to the judge, who should be guided by criminological opinion and research. That after all is the function of a judge: having heard the evidence and the decision of the jury, to pronounce sentence.
The "just obeying orders" card was played at Nürnberg and by Eichmann. Didn't work. For the system to work, prosecutors must first and foremost pursue justice, or they will fall into disrepute. Right now I wouldn't trust Ms. Ortiz in charge of a pebble on a highway intersection. That does nothing to encourage people to obey the laws.
People are giving Ortiz the "Just obeying orders" get out of jail free card. Wasn't accepted at Nuernberg. Wasn't accepted at the Eichmann trial.
You view, in fact, is that of the slave owners; we are allowed to combine to enforce slavery, the slaves cannot combine to better their conditions.
It's funny how some Americans bang on about liberty, but want to confine it to corporations and officials.
As a guy from H&SE once remarked to me, living near Aldermaston is like living near Vesuvius, except you can't see the smoke plume.
Love makes the world go 'round, with a little help from intrinsic angular momentum.