On the advantages of indolent police

I find that my observation yesterday about the source of freedom in a society (i.e., indolent police) is not a new idea. I happen to be reading a strange, rather dark book titled The Man who Laughs by Victor Hugo. In it, a group of troubadours who are the principal characters in the book come to London and set up their theater, a Green caravan on wheels referred to as the "Green Box", in a park in the City. They become very popular, drawing crowds away from the other established entertainers and from the churches as well. Hence, both the entertainment community and the clergy become their enemies and attempt to call down the wrath of the authorities upon them. As Hugo goes on to say:

...the poor Green Box, suspected of sorcery ... and of hydrophobia ... had only one thing in its favour (but a thing of great power in England), municipal inactivity. It is to the local authorities letting things take their own course that Englishmen owe their liberty.

The contrast between his view of the English police and the single-minded dedication of his French policeman, Javert, in Les Miserables may explain Hugo's tendency to be an Anglophile. In fact, this book is written in English, not French.