Access to the law and legal system is the ability to shape it, both in its meaning and
understanding. While the factors that usually determine the power to shape law are not static, in
general, access to law has been held by specific groups of people: the wealthy, males, whites,
and religious authorities. In constructing the law, these specific groups have traditionally used
their power to reinforce their dominant position and impede the ability of powerless groups to
further their interests. It is this position of advantage that allows the prevailing groups to
maintain a system of inequality fortified by the law that protects their prosperity while forcing
the disadvantaged to appeal to problematic methods to promote their well-being as a result of
their lack of access.
In his speech, “Address to the Prisoners in Cook County Jail,” Clarence Darrow defines
law as a creation of the rich, who, because of their wealth, own and control most of the property
and institutions of society (Darrow 229). The access that comes with their wealth then grants
them the power to construct the law in a way that sustains their elite position. For Darrow, as a
consequence of this system of power, the unprivileged individuals are forced to seek out other,
often criminal means of living in order to survive. He explains this by stating, “The more that is
taken from the poor by the rich, who have the chance to take it, the more poor people there are
who are compelled to resort to these means for a livelihood” (227). By wielding their power, the
rich have been able to consistently thwart the ability of the poor to access legitimate
opportunities, often leading them to participate in activities such as robbery and burglary in order
to ob...
... middle of paper ...
... for the structure of inequality to be destroyed, access to the law and the ability to shape it
must be given to all.
Works Cited
MLA Citation
Darrow, Clarence. “Address to the Prisoners in the Cook County Jail.” Before the Law: An
Introduction to the Legal Process. Ed. John J. Bonsignore., et. al. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Company, 2006. pp. 225-232.
Galanter, Marc. “Why the ‘Haves’ Come Out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal
Change.” Before the Law: An Introduction to the Legal Process. Ed. John J.
Bonsignore., et. al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. pp. 81-89.
Kropoktin, Peter. “Law and Authority.” Before the Law: An Introduction to the Legal Process.
Ed. John J. Bonsignore., et. al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. pp. 158-167.
MacKinnon, Katherine. “A Rally Against Rape.” White Plaza, Stanford University. 16 Nov.
1981.
have power are imposing their will on those with less power. The fact that at some point in the
a member of the judiciary such as a judge, the authority is not in the
In addition to low earnings, the prime reason for the inability to increase funds and thus increase security of income is that profits or potential savings are often pocketed by moneylenders who charge lofty interest rates, by formal and informal regulatory and enforcement agents/organizations who demand bribes or extort protection money, and by middlemen or other stronger business partners who exploit the poor because they lack market information or the ability to use the market information to increase their own incomes. Another key that prevents the poor from raising capital is that they are often forced to purchase public goods and services at a much higher cost that are readily available to other groups in society at market or below market prices(6).
institution of law, and when those laws grow of necessity to address the issues of our
laws made by others in our society, and decide whether or not the laws we make
There are several sources of power, some of them are authority, reward, expertise, and coercion.
In his book, Power and Choice, W. Phillips Shively introduces to students of political science the importance of power within the framework of politics. According to him, “Politics consists of the making of a common decision for a group of people through the use of power”(Shively 9). And that “power” is, “the ability of one person or group to cause another person or group to do what the first wishes, by whatever means”(5). Power, therefore, is of extreme importance within the arena of politics for any group who wishes to institute reform or maintain order. And yet, the question of analyzing power, and understanding how it is used, is not as clear as one might imagine. There is a split among political scientists as to who has the power, and how those in positions of power keep it. The debate seems to be centralized over the difference between observable power (manifest) and indirect power (implicit). When deciding the question of who has the power, it seems that the arguments of Hunter and Dahl are mainly concerned with the observable power exercised by those in positions of authority. The other, and more sound, theory of Baratz, Bachrach, and Lukes, maintains that actual power lies within the manipulation of issues from behind the scenes. In answering the question of power, the arguments of Baratz, Bachrach, and Lukes, go beyond the those of Hunter and Dahl, and show that the most effective uses of power are those which are the hardest to see, (implicit power).
The various bases of power, as identified by French and Raven, are reward, coercion, legitimate, expert, referent and informational. The last of these six bases, informational, was originally extracted from the bases expert. (Raven, B. H. 1993.) As stated before, these bases of power are grouped into two categories – formal and personal. The formal bases of power include: coercion, reward, legitimate, and information. Therefore both expert and referent are categorised as personal. Personal power originates from an “individual’s unique characteristic,” (Answers.com. 2014) which can otherwise be referred to as being reflective on the individual in power to their personality and mentality towards influencing others. Formal power can come from the ability to “coerce or reward, from formal authority, or from control of information.” (An...
When someone abuses his power, that means there occurs inequality. However, as the income inequality becomes more and more serious, and the social equality is at risk. One major reason is the rich abuses their power, take away almost everything, leave only so little to the middle class and the poor, that makes the contradiction. Gregory Mantsios wrote "Class in America-2009", he provided some example from the rich, middle class and poor family to discuss the different life condition of the different class in America. Mr. Mantsios state, "Despite what we like to think about ourselves as a nation, the truth is that opportunity for success and life itself are highly circumscribed by our race, our gender, and the class we are born into"(297). A lot of people may think everyone has an equal chance to succeed in this most developed country. However, the article showed many data and example to tell people since the gap between class is very large, then created injustice everywhere. The biggest social problem is people 's future was determined when they were born. If people are born from a rich family, they will have a wonderful life. They even can abuse the money to get more power, they use their money to help Politician 's campaign. What they want to be returned is the low tax and more condition to help their business, then they can be more successful than before, and that causes
This exercises the idea of independence within ‘different functions of government’; it is represented by the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Separating the three prevents a dangerous occurrence where power is entirely centralized in one group.... ... middle of paper ... ... Carl F. Stychin and Linda Mulcahy, Legal Methods and Systems, (4th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2010).
A world of system designed to keep people in unjust and unequal positions is held in place by several interrelated expression of "power over": political power, economic power, physical force, and ideological power (Bishop, 1994: 36). So, we can say power is defined as a possession of control, authority or influence over others. In terms of power of dominant groups over subordinate groups, we define power as domination of one group of people over another in major important spheres of life. Power inequities have been in existence throughout the history of humanity and the ways of manifestation evolved from extreme overt oppression to subtle, covert oppression. Three major forms of power inequalities discussed in this paper are based on property (class), domination whites over others (race) and men over women (gender).
of power, and these powers can make or break citizens' political participation. The media, with its
To be sure, modern laws are made to express the general will, a will that aims at the common good. This means that laws in most cases intend to protect every social member’s rights under the principle of justice and fairness. For telling examples one need to look no further than American judicial system. The access to the two courts systems, one federal court and one state court, provides citizens with the greatest potential to have their legal problems resolved quickly and justly. Besides, the entire U.S. legal system depends upon the involvement and integrity of citizens in the roles of parties, witnesses, jurors, legal counsel and judges， making the legislation, judgment and enforcement respecting more citizens' will, which is probably based on various interests, so that laws can be as just as possible. Therefore, modern laws are in nature pursuing to treat and protect every individual in the society.
Law intends to create a stable society which guarantees members of the society protection and allow them to engage in matters that really affect them, these is achieved through the voluntary transfer of rights to the leaders who are ent...
Power is defined in the course study notes as the “ability of individuals or groups to get what they want despite the opposition”. Power is derived from a variety of sources including knowledge, experience and environmental uncertainties (Denhardt et al, 2001). It is also important to recognize that power is specific to each situation. Individuals or groups that may be entirely powerful in one situation may find themselves with little or no power in another. The county Registrar of Voters, who is my boss, is a perfect example. In running the local elections office, she can exercise the ultimate power. However, in a situation where she attempted to get the county selected for a desirable, statewide pilot project, she was powerless, completely at the mercy of the Secretary of State. Power is difficult to measure and even to recognize, yet it plays a major role in explaining authority. In organizations, power is most likely exercised in situations where “the stakes are high, resources are limited, and goals and processes are unclear” (Denhardt et al, 2001). The absence of power in organizations forces us to rely on soley hierarchical authority.