Checklists replace common sense

摘要

By trade, as some readers may know, I am, in parts at least, a political scientist. One of the early papers I wrote as a bright and enthusiastic undergraduate dealt with the thesis that democracy is protected by a healthy disrespect for the law. It argued, and I still stand by the sentiment, that the real checks and balances in the political process are a citizenry's acceptance or rejection of laws imposed by the leadership of the nation, elected or not. The reaction on the streets of Brazil to President Dilma Roussef's attempt to appoint Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to her cabinet in order to protect him from possible prosecution is a current case in point.