Law
Law and its stabilizing influence can been seen in the flourishing of civilization. Comparable to business and information technology, law influences every element of human action. Beginning with the civil code of Ancient Egypt, on to the Roman law and following through to the legal volumes of the modern era, one can see that law adapts as cultures metamorphose. Undergirding human society, law empowers us to envisage and implement new forms of business and governance, even as we maintain the traditional.
Good government never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.
-- Frank Herbert, "Children of Dune"

