Virtue and the utility of the rule of law

A. Keith Thompson

Chapter 1 in Virtues and the Rule of Law, 2026, pp 9-35 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In this chapterI discuss whether the public expectation of virtue in human leaders has been or could be a bulwark protecting the rule of law. The discussion ranges from the discussion of virtue as a constraint on leaders in ancient societies (Israel, Greece and Rome) and in Europe following the advent of Christian teaching. I discuss the role Independent Commissions Against Corruption could play in embedding leader virtue in modern societal norms but conclude that it is unlikely since they operate ex post facto. I discuss how the lifelong education of virtue as a leadership expectation could be seeded in modern society, but ultimately suggest that our best starting point might lie in ‘transferring’ nine virtues I have previously suggested we expect of modern Western judges across into those who exercise modern executive and administrative power in governments and in corporations.

Keywords: Rule of Law; Virtue Lists; Ancient and Modern Virtues; Judicial Virtues; Virtue for Political and Corporate Executives; Corruption Commissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035398072
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