Many years ago, I listened to a speech given by the late Margaret Thatcher who, most of us know, as prime minister of Great Britain during the Eighties left a political and economic legacy that has been alternately lauded and reviled by critics of all stripes.  Mine is not to offer opinions on Mrs. Thatcher, but rather to think about a point to which she returned repeatedly during her speech, namely, the necessity of the rule of law.
     This observation must of course be taken in context.  Too many laws stifle; too little invite chaos.  Mrs. Thatcher's point was that people needed a rule of law to insure a reasonable degree of comity and order in their respective nations.  With this, it is hard to argue, although we can certainly debate about how intense or comprehensive a set of laws should be.
     The larger issue, however, is why we humans suppose we need laws.  If we say it is because we need order, then we must ask ourselves why we do.  Why are we creatures who desire order?  Why do we not prefer chaos?
     Laws ensure order (and, again, we can debate about how much order we need), but they only do so because we are creatures who desire order over chaos.  Why?  We live in an orderly universe, a universe that operates according to various physical laws.  The rule of law is built into the fabric of the cosmos.
     So why is there order when there was nothing to imagine it?