2007-07-23 05:51:39 · 2 answers · asked by MYthoughts 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Wow, it's been a while since I heard those terms. Aren't natural crimes those acts that would just naturally be criminal, like murder, assault, robbery, rape, etc. Legal crimes would be legislated crimes like traffic laws, commercial laws, consumer protection and the like?
Just my two cents.
2007-07-23 05:59:16 · answer #1 · answered by John W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Natural crime presumes a common morality, and a society agreement that everyone should behave the same way in certain areas.
It's based on the principle that most religions and cultures tend to find the same things objectionable. But it's a flawed assumption, because many things that one culture may think are universal aren't really.
Take murder -- most cultures think that the prohibition against murder is universal. But historically, many cultures have allowed murder for revenge (such as in duels), murder of people of a particular race or religion or gender, killing of criminals (which by a mob would still be murder).
Legal crime is the theory that rather than trying to guess what "universal" standards apply, we just write down what is allowed and what is not, so everyone knows and there is no guesswork.
2007-07-23 06:13:26 · answer #2 · answered by coragryph 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋