 While proponents of the thin theory admit that compliance with the rule of law, so understood, is compatible with extreme injustice, it nonetheless has inherent value, an important way of respecting those subject to laws as rational agents who are given the opportunity to take legal norms into account in their practical deliberation prior to reaching a decision (Fuller 1964: 162; Raz 1979: 221; Finnis 2011: 273). In this way, it acts as a significant, but not comprehensive, limitation on certain forms of arbitrary official power. Moreover, some requirements of the rule of law, such as the prohibition of retrospective punishment, seem to capture basic demands of justice. Finally, the rule of law has various kinds of instrumental value, such as helping achieve social goods including economic efficiency (by fostering a predictable environment for economic decision-making) and democratic governance (by ensuring, for example, that laws enacted democratically are effectively applied according to their terms).