Read the Full Text Article in the Huffington Post
It was Benjamin Franklin’s view that where justice was absent, civil society was impossible. He and the other Founders agreed on the essential importance of justice in a democracy. I feel the same way, and you probably do as well. If you do you will probably be as appalled as I was when I read the World of Justice Project report: Rule of Law Index 2010.
I will not deny that it has left me shaken.
To understand why I think this report is such a big deal, perhaps it will help to say who funded it: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Neukom Family Foundation, the GE Foundation, The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and Lexis Nexis. I list them to make the point that this is the pinnacle of non-partisan philanthropy, not some political think tank with an agenda. We can trust the data.
The project, involving 900 researchers from 35 countries, who have polled 35,000 individuals, in addition to searching each nation’s records, presents itself in a way that Benjamin Franklin would have understood and endorsed.
