On a popular understanding, the rule of law is valuable because it enables people to plan their lives. However, planning conceptions of the rule of law are undermined by the sheer quantity of legal rules, regulations, and policies characteristic of modern administrative states. Under conditions of hyperlexis, people cannot reasonably be expected to reliably use the law as a guide to conduct. Rather than conclude that the rule of law is inimical to the administrative state, however, I defend an alternative conception of the rule of law. On what I term a contestatory conception, the rule of law requires an adequate opportunity to challenge decisions made by officials in the exercise of their legal powers. The animating idea of a contestatory conception of the rule of the law is that officials should relate to citizens in the space of reasons rather than merely through the exercise of power.

中文翻译：

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超词与法治

普遍的理解是，法治之所以有价值，是因为它使人们能够规划自己的生活。然而，法治的规划概念被现代行政国家所特有的大量法律规则、法规和政策所破坏。在词汇过度的情况下，不能合理地期望人们可靠地使用法律作为行为指南。然而，我并没有得出法治对行政国家有害的结论，而是为法治的另一种概念辩护。就我所说的争议性概念而言，法治需要充分的机会来质疑官员在行使其法律权力时做出的决定。