This paper reviews two articles concerning the nature, purpose, and limitations of law in society. The first, "Inherent Limitations on its Effectiveness," examines how the effectiveness of laws can be measured — whether preventive or curative in purpose — and how the law operates both within and outside social norms. The second, William Evans's "Law as an Instrument of Social Change" (1965), argues that law serves a broader role than simply codifying cultural morals, functioning instead as a mechanism for improving social behavior and values. The paper evaluates Evans's conditions for law-driven social transformation, noting that resistance to new laws remains a persistent challenge, and highlights his recommendation that understanding techniques to overcome such resistance is key to law fulfilling an educational rather than merely a social-control function.
"Inherent Limitations on its Effectiveness" broadly discusses the existence of laws and how their effectiveness can be measured. The author does an effective job of presenting the realities of law, providing examples that help the reader understand the inherent limitations on legal effectiveness. The article's treatment of the description, purpose, and objectives of laws — as well as their impact on society — is largely convincing and worthy of careful consideration.
One important truth about how society measures the effectiveness of law is captured in the following passage from the article:
"So far as a norm or a law is concerned, we can tell if it is effective if, its purpose being preventive, its existence and application prevent the conduct disapproved of. If its purpose is curative — to remedy some deficiency or disorder — its effectiveness is measured by the extent to which the deficiency or disorder disappears."
This distinction between preventive and curative functions of law provides a clear and practical framework for evaluating whether any given law is achieving its intended goals within society.
The article offers a thorough explanation of the limits of law and its effectiveness, covering examples in which the law recognizes both normative and out-of-norm situations. That is, the law does not solely operate in conformity with established social norms; there are also instances outside those norms that the law formally recognizes and addresses.
The discussion of law as a model and law as a programme further describes the role of law in society. However, despite all the information presented, one question ultimately lingers: how can the law succeed in liberating society from disorders and harmful cultural practices that people have been raised to accept?
William Evans's "Law as an Instrument of Social Change" argues that society's conventional view of law — as merely a code of culture and morals — is insufficient. Evans contends that law serves a broader purpose: it is designed to improve the behavior and values of society (Evans, 1965). This perspective challenges a purely descriptive understanding of law and positions it as an active, reformative force.
It is a well-recognized reality in contemporary society that new laws will face resistance from some segments of the population. Questions such as "Is this law important and necessary?" are commonly raised whenever new legislation is enacted. According to Evans, this pattern of resistance is a constant feature of society — a reality that, in his view, ultimately serves to test and reveal the importance or unimportance of every law created. This is a characterization that reflects an observable truth about the relationship between law and social behavior.
"Why societies resist new laws over time"
"Evans's recommendation for law as an educational tool"
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