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===Of the Animal Spirits=== | ===Of the Animal Spirits=== | ||
Few things are more apt to excite an lawyer’s animal spirits than sight of an [[indemnity]]. Once a proud creature of the common law, in the hands of mediocre | Few things are more apt to excite an lawyer’s animal spirits than sight of an [[indemnity]]. Once a proud creature of the [[common law]], in the hands of [[mediocre lawyer]]s this noble beast has fallen upon hard times. Instead of prudently allocating unwanted outcomes, these days the indemnity is seen, by those who would wield it, as a [[smart bomb]] for surgically eliminating evil whilst vouchsafing loved ones to the bosom of the Earth. Those asked to indemnify, on the other hand, feel their throats tighten in a manner redolent of the closing stages of a Conrad novel. | ||
===What an indemnity is=== | ===What an indemnity is=== | ||
“Why the excitement,” you might ask, “for isn’t an [[indemnity]] simply a promise to pay a defined sum should pre-agreed circumstances arise?” Quite so, if used as the Lords<ref>House of Lords, that is.</ref> intended. For an indemnity is a sensible way — perhaps the only way — to allocate the risks of externalities two merchants might encounter when providing one another goods and services. | “Why the excitement,” you might ask, “for isn’t an [[indemnity]] simply a promise to pay a defined sum should pre-agreed circumstances arise?” Quite so, if used as the Lords<ref>House of Lords, that is.</ref> intended. For an indemnity is a sensible way — perhaps the only way — to allocate the risks of externalities two merchants might encounter when providing one another goods and services. |