Other than fear of punishment and sympathy for other living beings, give me a reason why I should obey the law

Question

This is a serious question. I am not an anarchist, and I am not a scofflaw. I am merely bringing up a point about laws and human nature.

If it weren't for fear of punishment, would the authorities have anywhere near the power they have now?

And if it weren't for sympathy for another being, what would stop me from committing murder?

Answer 1

JAIL!

Answer 2

They probably wouldn't have anywhere near the power, and I guess nothing would stop you from committing murder except being killed or sentenced to jail for your actions so you can't do it again. The law is there for you to obey so people don't kill people, and there is more peace in the world. Imagine if people weren't punished for what they did. The Earth would be destroyed in less than days.

Answer 3

There is absolutely no good reason to obey the law simply because it is the law. Laws are created by governments in order to protect their own interests. In other words, laws are a way to maintain the power of a small minority of elitists at the expense of the rest of society. For example, it is a law that we must pay income taxes to the government. Nearly 60% of those taxes are used by the government for military expenditures. So even if a person abhors violence and war, if he or she is "law-abiding", that person is paying for bullets and bombs that are used to kill other people. Laws are simply a means of control and should not be obeyed just because somebody else wants to make you.

Answer 4

Here's a good reason: You don't live in a vacuum. Everything you say and do has the potential to affect others, so you need to consider that before you act. Goes right back to the Golden Rule of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Think about it: What gives you the right to take something that doesn't belong to you? What gives you the right to take someone else's life? What gives you the right to force someone else to do your bidding? You don't have any of those rights, and if you were to assume that you did and simply do whatever you wanted without regard to those around you that you may be harming, eventually those whom you have harmed are going to hunt you down and treat you to a violent, painful death. Or even worse, someone who is bigger and stronger or smarter than you may decide to take something that belongs to you or force you to do his will, and he may harm or kill you if you try to stop him or don't do what he says. How would you feel then? What right does HE have to force YOU to do anything against your will? The law is in place to keep people acting in a civilized manner instead of resorting to the law of the jungle (survival of the fittest). It is designed to ensure maximum freedom but it is also designed to hold people accountable for actions that may (and often do) harm others.

Answer 5

If the world had the same views as you..

you probably wouldnt be here today

every one would be murderers and addicted to crack

no one would work, every one would steal
there would be no doctors or nurses, no surgeons, no poilce offices no fire brigades no ambulance offices,

no responsibility for travel, or immagration, terriosts would come through customs, the world would have ended by now if there were no such thing as laws, or if nobody followed them

Answer 6

You are right about punishment,but the way the world is being ran a person can not make a living or provide for a family with a felony on their record. So whatever your trying to do think about it first.

Answer 7

How about trust? If you murdered another human being, would other humans around you trust you? As social beings, we rely upon each other for just about everything, and trust amongst the social group is a necessity for the cohesion of that group.

Answer 8

If you obey the laws, you will be seen as a decent, honest person within our society. If you don't perform within the laws, you will be considered a person on the low rung of society who only does what he wants, and pays the consequences.

Answer 9

We are a nation of laws. In order for a civilized society to continue to exist, it's citizens must adhere to those laws.

Without laws and without obeyance, you have - Ruwanda! Or Iraq... Chaos would reign.

In a system of laws, there are always those sociopaths who consider themself to be above the law....those are called criminals and sometimes convicts.

Answer 10

I see what you're saying. There's no real answer to that, besides natural human compassion. While we do have survival instincts that tell us 'me first!', we also have logic that tells us 'they are just like me. would I want someone to do this?'. It is also our hunger for acceptance and love: we know that if we, for example, murder someone we will be hated by many people. It is not natural for us to want to kill another person, however, it is natural for us to want to be accepted and treated kindly.

Answer 11

Nothing I know of really.... just the fact you'd be a person with no morals or conscience. Some people are like that anyway.