In Making Tort Law, Charles Fried and David Rosenberg, professors at Harvard Law School, address the intellectual roots of the "tort explosion" and identify the functions that tort law can and cannot serve. Their rigorous and powerful analysis contends that the justification of tort liability as a means of vindicating individual rights is a sentimental and distracting myth, while the practical ability of liability judgments to promote a just distribution of income is severely constrained. Abandoning those unworkable purposes, Fried and Rosenberg argue that tort law should be devoted exclusively to safety regulation and to providing incentives for efficient levels of investment in reducing the risks of accidents and injuries.

Please join us at AEI for a discussion of this important addition to the growing field of tort scholarship.