This paper will assess two questions: why do people obey the law and why do people break the law? First and foremost, the question of why people break the law can be answered with a complexity of factors. From a sociological perspective, people are deviant because they do not conform to social norms and therefore act out against the law. My theory would be that the underprivileged are the people who commit the most crimes due to economic and social conditions. Other explanations could include motives, for example, committing an offence out of anger, passion, or rejection of authority. Hate and violent crimes have been calculated to be rising and this connects to why people break the law because it demonstrates that the motive behind crime is …show more content…
When breaking the law, there are consequences, usually in the form of money. People today value their money greatly and most try to deter committing crimes solely because of the loss of funds. Deterrence plays a large role in why people obey the law because when people commit crimes, society performs increased conformity because of the collective outrage and unity that follows after a crime occurs. When members of society observe others receiving the consequences that follow a crime, people tend to make mental notes and remind themselves to be cautious around the law. Obeying the law can be sourced from the social contract, where people are expected to conform to these unwritten laws of society. The philosophical and religious perspective stems from the fundamental foundations of obeying a supreme being, or in current society, the government who sets out laws to keep society from chaos. The philosophy of law includes the assumption that without law, there is no peace and order, therefore, in the eyes of philosophers, there is a duty to follow the law for the greater good. Source #1 - Why do people break the …show more content…
There are many different explanations and reasons for why people break the law, including desperation, social pressures, moral convictions, and other variables. This highlights the need for comprehensive strategies to address and prevent criminal activity. Source #2 - Why Do People Obey The Law? The main explanations, directly from legal scholars, say that people try to avoid the consequences and sanctions of legal issues and that they see the government as a legitimate authority figure. According to Richard McAdams, who has been developing a theory at the University of Chicago Law School, it states that the law works “expressively” by allowing people to coordinate and by signalling new information. The signalling aspect of the theory means that people get signals from other people who are suffering legal consequences to update their behaviour. The coordinating half of the theory talks about the law acting as a coordinating people by working as a focal point to help avoid encouraging breaking the law. McAdams identifies public attitudes as having a great impact on why people obey the law, for morals and actions to be in
Laws are made and enforced for a reason.No matter how bad or ridiculous a law may seem it is to benefit and protect the well being of the people.If people break or "peacefully resist" then there is no point in having the law.Sure the person who resisted the law will face the consequences but at what cost the damage is done and if the punishment is not sever enough then more and more people will begin to follow and resist the law as well and eventually something bad will happen that the law could
to humanity’s values makes one a good man, while following the laws set out by the government defines a good citizen. But when those laws infringe upon humanity’s, it causes high controversy and may end up in criminal activity in order to preserve moral values. For such reasons, it would be reasonable to break a law under certain conditions for the sake of self-defense and the greater good. Though some people may advocate that laws are set in place for the security of the general public, there
There is a clear difference between protesting and breaking the law. Everyone knows that protesting is part of the first amendment’s freedom of expression, and some people will sometimes take advantage of this freedom but they may end up breaking the law. Peaceful resistance to laws mostly has a negative impact on a free society. Resistance to a country’s laws is not a good idea and is not good for society. Although many people hate to admit it, President Donald Trump was elected to the presidency
In the United States, states and people follow the laws because the government has a way to enforce cooperation, by threatening punishment on those who break the law. The enforcement of laws is how most institutions promote cooperation. At the international level, however, there is no central authority that has the ability to make and enforce laws, in other words it is an anarchy. For example, countries like Russia or the UK do not have to do what the United Nations tells them to, since they cannot
United States, no one really knows how many laws we have, apparently no one can count that high. Each law that congress passes is for a purpose, whether it’s for our safety or even morality. Every law that exists should be followed and respected by every citizen in the United States. Laws protect our general safety and also ensure our rights as citizens. But when it comes to breaking the laws, I believe that no law should be broken, because by breaking the law, it can put people life at risk, there could
Breaking the law is unfair simply because we have a duty to “obey the law, it is built into citizenship” (Walton, 2107) and breaking the law would cause dysfunction among society. For instance, the social contract theory explains how the authority to rule is granted to the government by the people who make a contract with the government. Each side has obligations which must be met for the contract to be valid. Furthermore, almost everyone reaps the benefits of living in a state where there is social
weak started it. Their actions proved it. Disobeying a law is a crime that the offender should be willing to take the punishment for and let his sacrifice be used as a point to rally around to create a just, moral change. Whenever a law is deemed unjust, there is good reason for breaking it to achieve justice. Civil Disobedience will never be legal and those who employ it should be willing to accept the penalty that comes with breaking a law. It has been shown through historic cases, modern examples
responsible. However, it’s no secret that teens break the law, thinking they’re basically invincible. They engage in underage drinking, vandalism, also possession, and under the influence of drugs. The answer is different depending on a number of factors. First, it depends on whether the child is being prosecuted for breaking a criminal law or sued for something civilly. In the
view that peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society. When society pins you down from the day you are born and doesn't give you a chance to fight back then we begin to see the hierarchy that society has and how many people are at times born into certain ranks or positions in life and that scale does end up shaping people's beliefs as they grow up. With peaceful resistance what is shown is an ability to be strong and brave to
often in movies and other media, “Laws were made to be broken.” This holds true, especially when the law that is being broken is morally unjust and requires a citizen to disregard or act in an unjust manner to their fellow citizens. Any law that requires that kind of action is not beneficial to the common good of society, and creates a contrast between the “good citizen” part of a person and the “decent human being” part of a person. While it may seem that laws like this simply do not exist, they
When one disobeys the law, there is naturally a consequence. What happens when people break the law because they consider it unjust? This is civil disobedience and it is questioned to be positively or negatively impacting our society. I believe this is positively impacting our society because it encourages Americans to exercise their freedoms. I believe that civil disobedience is also at times the only way to bring attention to a problem that needs resolution. According to the First Amendment of
“Laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population.” a saying taken from the brilliant Albert Einstein means that laws are here to protect us yet, they are always broken and those who break those laws will then suffer. This quote refers to Lucifer rebelling against heaven and being consigned to hell or the “dark dominion”(2). The meaning of this poem is that Lucifer has broken the
The Monkey Wrench Gang: The Law breaking Heroes Everyone knows that breaking the law is bad and anybody who does is a criminal, but Edward Abbey author of The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975), puts a twist on those thoughts. The Monkey Wrench Gang is an adventurous novel about a gang of environmentalists who set out to destroy bulldozers, bridges, cars, trains, signs or anything that is destroying their beautiful country, the American southwest. Through characterization and description Edward Abbey glorifies
In order for laws to be enacted, they must be known by the constituents. Laws are created, enacted, and enforced to preserve civil society. For Locke and Rousseau these laws are made by the people who will have to abide by them. Considering that these laws were agreed by the majority, it is expect that they will follow said laws. Those who break the law in civil society are punished to the full extent of the law by an impartial judge. The difference between breaking the law in civil society and
People break laws every day for many reasons. They do it by trying to have fun, having hatred towards another person, wanting acknowledgement, or by standing up for what they believe in. It is not right to break a law, but if someone does it by standing up for what they believe in, it may be negotiable. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, and Nelson Mandela were all justified in breaking the law which caused them to change the lives of many people. Rosa Parks was justified in breaking the law on December