I just been wonderin
2006-10-01 10:40:19 · 5 answers · asked by fabolouswife10 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Not all societies do. Small, less complex societies don't.
I disagree with those who say that without laws people would run around causing mayhem. Most people aren't law-abiding because of the laws, they just aren't brutes, and understand fairness and reasonability (if no one pays for things, the people who make and sell them can't earn a living, for example).
I also disagree that anarchy "doesn't work" as people have existed without formal government.
We haven't seen examples of true anarchy in developed societies, so we can't say. Most people falsely equate anarchy (in the sense of lack of formal government) with chaos.
I think most societies make laws partly because they believe the myth that otherwise everyone would kill and steal all the time, and because humans just love rules and laws.
They make life simpler, in a way. Instead of looking at every grievance on a case-by-case basis, you have the blanket statements people can follow.
There are two types of law: those written to protect people from wrong-doing by others (which is what the answers you've gotten so far are about), and those that attempt to control people's lives -- "paternalistic" laws, that is laws that tell you what to do, that have nothing to do with protecting other people from your actions.
Societies make paternalistic laws because too many people are control freaks.
2006-10-01 11:21:19 · answer #1 · answered by tehabwa 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The alternative to law is anarchy and anarchy doesn't work, at least not in the long run. Laws are society's way of giving itself the best chance of survival by means of a central government and a set of rules by which every citizen has certain rights and privileges. Now if we could just figure out where the hell it all went wrong.
2006-10-01 17:50:41 · answer #2 · answered by kevpet2005 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because without the rule of law...chaos rules. And every man would become a law unto himself.
2006-10-01 17:46:22 · answer #3 · answered by bitemeifucancatchme 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To maintain some type of order.
2006-10-01 17:44:32 · answer #4 · answered by rockinout 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
to prevent anarchy....no rules and people would just do what they want, when thet want, to who they want...gotta have some rules
2006-10-01 17:43:56 · answer #5 · answered by ronnie b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋