--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Law in its ideal form might be described…" description: "\"“Law in its ideal form might be described as a ‘once-and-for-all’ command that is directed to unknown people and that is abstracted from all particular..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/friedrich-a-hayek-29346_law_law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described_19330.jpg" --- # Law in its ideal form might be described as a… ![“Law in its ideal form might be described as a ‘once-and-for-all’ command that is directed to unknown people and that is abstracted from all particular circumstances of time and place and refers only to such conditions as may occur anywhere and at any time.” quote by Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/friedrich-a-hayek-29346_law_law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described_19330.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/friedrich-a-hayek-29346_law_law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described_19330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/friedrich-a-hayek-29346_law_law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described_19330.jpg) > ““Law in its ideal form might be described as a ‘once-and-for-all’ command that is directed to unknown people and that is abstracted from all particular circumstances of time and place and refers only to such conditions as may occur anywhere and at any time.”” [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Law aims to be a universal, timeless directive, abstracted from specific contexts, applying to any situation. **In simple terms:** Universal, timeless legal principle Key Takeaway Law seeks generality over particularity Themes universality abstraction timelessness generality legal theory normativity Mood analytical objective critical Type philosophical theoretical maxim When to use this quote - drafting constitutional provisions - creating international treaties - designing corporate policies - forming regulatory frameworks Key Concepts law authority abstract reasoning social order Practical Applications - policy drafting - legal education Questions to Reflect On - How does abstraction affect law's relevance? - Can universal rules accommodate cultural differences? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstracted Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstracted-particular-392114/) [Described](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/described-392113/) [Ideal Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-form-392116/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-ideal-392112/) [Particular Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular-circumstances-392115/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Fate then is that necessity by which a certain result will surely be brought to pass according to the natural course of events however…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/fate-then-is-that-necessity-by-which-a-certain-result-will-surely-be/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [“if the moral law or the ideal good indeed exists outside of us, then it must be grounded in and be one with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/if-the-moral-law-or-the-ideal-good-indeed-exists-outside-of-us-then/) [Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/) > [The ideal form for a poem, essay, or fiction, is that which the ideal writer would evolve spontaneously. One in whom the powers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-ideal-form-for-a-poem-essay-or-fiction-is-that-which-the-ideal/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“The preoccupation with models and copies can be traced back to Plato’s postulation of an ideal world of forms. In this conception, ideal form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bolt/the-preoccupation-with-models-and-copies-can-be-traced-back-to-plato/) [Barbara Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bolt/) > [Maybe that's why people take pictures of themselves, to avoid being described.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/maybe-that-s-why-people-take-pictures-of-themselves-to-avoid-being/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [“You’ve made yourself quite at home, I see.” “You’ve a nice one here, Kerry,” he said quite sincerely, his smile still sparkling with equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/you-ve-made-yourself-quite-at-home-i-see-you-ve-a-nice-one-here-kerry/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [The description is not the described.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/the-description-is-not-the-described/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“You’re nuts.” “Genius is often described as such.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mather/you-re-nuts-genius-is-often-described-as-such/) [Matthew Mather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mather/) > [Some things are better done than described.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hunt-morgan/some-things-are-better-done-than-described/) [Thomas Hunt Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hunt-morgan/) > [I have described myself as being 'gently eccentric.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/i-have-described-myself-as-being-gently-eccentric/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [I want to describe myself, not be described by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-cochran/i-want-to-describe-myself-not-be-described-by-others/) [Johnnie Cochran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-cochran/) > [ “Nothing has really happened unless it's been described \[in words\].” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/nothing-has-really-happened-unless-it-s-been-described-in-words/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Experience is something you have to go through yourself to be able to fully described the act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/experience-is-something-you-have-to-go-through-yourself-to-be-able-to/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The struggle, if it were one, need not be described.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-struggle-if-it-were-one-need-not-be-described/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I have seldom been described as shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-have-seldom-been-described-as-shy/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) ## More by Friedrich A. Hayek > [“Tradition is not good simply because it is tradition. It is for what it has given us and only so long as an alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/tradition-is-not-good-simply-because-it-is-tradition-it-is-for-what/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“At least insofar as the rules providing for coercion are not aimed at me personally but are so framed as to apply equally to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/at-least-insofar-as-the-rules-providing-for-coercion-are-not-aimed-at/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“It may be admitted that, as far as scientific knowledge is concerned, a body of suitably chosen experts may be in the best position…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/it-may-be-admitted-that-as-far-as-scientific-knowledge-is-concerned-a/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“Unlike the rationalism of the French Revolution, true liberalism has no quarrel with religion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/unlike-the-rationalism-of-the-french-revolution-true-liberalism-has-2/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [ “The basis of freedom as well are \[sic\] the restraints commonly accepted by the members of the group in which the rules of morals… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/the-basis-of-freedom-as-well-are-sic-the-restraints-commonly-accepted/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“If we can agree that the economic problem of society is mainly one of rapid adaptation to changes in the particular circumstances of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/if-we-can-agree-that-the-economic-problem-of-society-is-mainly-one-of/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“The coercion which a government must still use … is reduced to a minimum and made as innocuous as possible by restraining it through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/the-coercion-which-a-government-must-still-use-is-reduced-to-a/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“Governments strong enough to protect individuals against the violence of their fellows make possible the evolution of an increasingly complex order of spontaneous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/governments-strong-enough-to-protect-individuals-against-the-violence/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“This entails certain corollaries on which true individualism once more stands in sharp opposition to the false individualism of the rationalistic type. The first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/this-entails-certain-corollaries-on-which-true-individualism-once/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“I prefer true but imperfect knowledge, even if it leaves much indetermined and unpredictable, to a pretence of exact knowledge that is likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/i-prefer-true-but-imperfect-knowledge-even-if-it-leaves-much/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“Once government undertakes to determine the whole wage structure and is thereby forced to control employment and production, there will be a far greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/once-government-undertakes-to-determine-the-whole-wage-structure-and/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“To the accepted Christian tradition that man must be free to follow his conscience in moral matters if his actions are to be of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/to-the-accepted-christian-tradition-that-man-must-be-free-to-follow/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“Freedom is order through law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/freedom-is-order-through-law/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“Our faith in freedom does not rest on the foreseeable results in particular circumstances but on the belief that it will, on balance, release…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/our-faith-in-freedom-does-not-rest-on-the-foreseeable-results-in-2/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) > [“For most of us the time we spend at our work is a large part of our whole lives, and as our job usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/for-most-of-us-the-time-we-spend-at-our-work-is-a-large-part-of-our/) [Friedrich A. Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) [Explore all 17 Friedrich A. Hayek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/) ## More Law quotes > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/) [Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/) > [The law is like apparel, which alters with the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dodderidge/the-law-is-like-apparel-which-alters-with-the-time/) [John Dodderidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dodderidge/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Dictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Laws undertake to punish only overt acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laws-undertake-to-punish-only-overt-acts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In relations between the rich and the strong, between the rich and the poor, between the master and the servant, it's liberty that grinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-relations-between-the-rich-and-the-strong-between-the-rich-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Browse all 16,973 Law quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Law in its ideal form might be described as a ‘once-and-for-all’ command that is directed to unknown people and that is abstracted from all particular circumstances of time and place and refers only to such conditions as may occur anywhere and at any time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich A. Hayek" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described-as-a-once-and-for-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Law" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described-as-a-once-and-for-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/friedrich-a-hayek-29346_law_law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described_19330.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/friedrich-a-hayek-29346_law_law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described_19330.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/friedrich-a-hayek-29346_law_law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described_19330.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Law in its ideal form might be described as a ‘once-and-for-all’ command that is directed to unknown people…” — Friedrich A. Hayek", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Friedrich A. Hayek", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-a-hayek/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Law in its ideal form might...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described-as-a-once-and-for-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-hayek/law-in-its-ideal-form-might-be-described-as-a-once-and-for-all/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```