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The Reith Lectures

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Significant international thinkers deliver the BBC's flagship annual lecture series.

The Reith Lectures: 2019: Law's Expanding Empire

Jonathan Sumption

Law's Expanding Empire

2019

BBC Parliament - The Reith Lectures, 2019, Law's Expanding Empire

In the 19th century, the law dealt with only a very narrow range of human problems.

Former judge Jonathan Sumption explains how the growth of the law, driven by a demand for greater security and less risk, now means that we have less liberty.

In his first lecture, recorded at Middle Temple in London in front of an audience, Jonathan Sumption argues that, until the 19th century, law only dealt with a very narrow range of human problems. But that has changed radically. And he says that the growth of the law, driven by a demand for greater security and less risk, means we have less liberty. 

A version for television of the programme first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 21 May.

The Reith Lectures: 2019

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Jonathan Sumption delivers his series, Law and the Decline of Politics.

Former judge, Jonathan Sumption, delivers his series, Law and the Decline of Politics, setting out the argument that the law has moved into the space once occupied by politics.

Former judge, Jonathan Sumption, delivers his series, Law and the Decline of Politics, setting out the argument that the law has moved into the space once occupied by politics. Presented and chair by Anita Anand.

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Law's Expanding Empire

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