Society

• Society – a group of people who live and interact together
• Pluralistic society – a form of society with lots of diverse groups within it  
• Roles of law in society 

  1.        To protect people from harm 

  2.        To ensure a common good 

  3.        To settle arguments

  4.        To persuade people to do the right thing
• Consensus theory 

  o   Social order is maintained through socialisation that leads to shared values 

  o   This starts at a young age and continues within institutions within which social change takes place 
• Consensus theory

  +   Acknowledges that the law can reflect social change, allows for the political and legal institutions to reflect changing social attitudes 

  -   Implies there is a consensus among citizens on what should/shouldn’t be illegal 
• Conflict theory 

  o   Focuses on the disagreements between groups in society and the idea that individuals/ groups will work to maximise their own wealth and power.

  o   Social and economic institutions are tools used to maintain inequality and the dominance of the ruling class
• Hall – the law is used as an agency of power for the ruling classes to socially control behaviours of the working class.
• Karl Marx

  German philosopher working in the 19th century – famous communist 

  o   Wrote the communist manifesto in response to the industrial revolution
• Communism – all the means of production should be collected by the state and redistributed fairly. The state should then collapse itself and we should run our own communities 
• Repressive state apparatus 

  Consists of the army, police, judiciary and the prison system.

  -    Operates primarily by means of mental and physical coercion and violence (Althusser)
• Using the law as a method of social control – conflict theory
• Thatcherism 

  Certain groups of people (e.g. working class) were repressed under Thatcher’s government:

  o   Reduced welfare state 

  o   Closing of the mines
• Punitive laws against certain groups:

  o   Public Order Act 1986 – restricting the right to protest

  o   Section 28 – LGBT relationships could not be discussed in schools
• London muggings in 1970s

  The use of media, government statements and police to place blame on immigrants rather than the faulty capitalist system.

  o   The law can be used to penalise demographics based on class and race
• Left realism 

  Believe the main causes of crime are inequality and marginalisation.

  Focuses on liberating/lifting people out of crime through employment and social structures.
• Right realism 

  Believe that individuals make a rational choice to commit crime and there should be an emphasis on tough control measures to reduce crime.
• Both forms of realism have an element of social control as they aim to change the way society behaves.
• Social control in Criminal law:

  Brown – D was found guilty after engaging in sadomasochistic homosexual acts 

  o   Enforcing social control on people’s private lives 
• Social control in Criminal law:

  Wilson – held that consensual branding of a wife was not a matter for the law 

  o   Respects individual liberty but creates inconsistencies with using the legal system as a method of social control.