The Conscience of Abe’s Turn is an online libertarian serial novel that can be read here.  Some libertarian fictional works focus on the possibilities of a political system without coercion, some look at economic freedom, while others envisage free states or countries.  The Conscience of Abe’s Turn is about civil rights, particularly the misuse of the police force and the criminal justice system to control dissent.

Read on to find out more about this serial (which is currently in progress).

The story centres on a small town, Abe’s Turn.  The main characters include a criminal lawyer and a civil rights campaigner.  Their nemesis is a heavy handed police chief who is interested in maintaining control over the town.  He uses the flimsiest of pretexts to harass and threaten any dissenters or anyone who speaks out against his misuse and extension of his authority.

A civil rights campaigner organises a protest against police brutality and misuse of power.  He uses every possible excuse to undermine her, to the point that she nearly gives up.  Only through the efforts of the lawyer is the police chief stopped, but he plays both sides – using his power to make deals for himself.

He drives a Pakistani family out of town by arresting the father for terrorism on the flimsiest of pretexts.  When the Mafia threatens the business of someone he takes a dislike to, he fails to act to protect them.  ”Protect and serve” means little to this police chief.

There are two major themes of this work that I would like to discuss.  Firstly, it is the failure of the justice system, particularly the police component of this, which is the front end of the process (which starts with the police, goes through the criminal courts and then to the prison or corrective services function).  Whilst not corrupt, the police chief fails to act against criminals, or to protect the innocent, but instead harasses those who speak out about injustices perpetuated by the police.

This signifies a system that in this town has become disconnected from provision of justice and indistinguishable from the Gestapo.  The question it raises is what limits should be placed on the powers of police, how should they be held accountable, and what is their proper role (if any) in society.  At what point do the actions of police, or their inaction make them worse than the criminals?

This becomes a particular issue in societies which have no way of protecting themselves against criminals, but where police are seemingly unwilling to act against criminals, who are often heavily armed.

Secondly, there is the fundamental conflict between defending the innocent and ensuring that justice is served through the court system (which is a function of a criminal lawyer), and the need to protect society from criminals.  This theme is explored when the criminal lawyer’s wife is abducted by a criminal that he had acquitted.  There is no simple answer to this matter, but the novel at least raises the question.

I would recommend that you read The Conscience of Abe’s Turn if you are concerned with civil rights, and the misuse of police as a tool to stifle free speech (this does not happen in every case) and the dissent that is an important part of our freedom.  It does not spoon feed you with answers, or mindlessly state that having police is a bad thing, but will certainly get you thinking for yourself and consider what is the balance between protecting the innocent and punishing wrongdoers.

Tags: freedom, libertarian

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