Law Maintains The Functioning Of Society

By Author: Law is essential in the community. For any society
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Law is essential in the community. For any society which is searching for an opportunity to become peaceful and get rid of difficulties, law is suggested. It is often created by the society and thus it is up to the society members to judge if they will abide by the laws or not. However, there are punishments for not obeying it. Law performs many functions which are essential for the society’s welfare. Laws for the Society include:

Society’s defense from evil

The primary role of law is to assist in protecting us from evil. It also helps in keeping us safe from people who are on the lookout for a chance to harm us for no visible reason. Thus, criminal courts are created to assist to judge and deliver sentences on people who are convicted for involving in acts that harm others. Convicted persons may get a sentence that ranges from many days to a life sentence. Also, civil courts are made to deal with civil cases. The accused party is charged after it is proved beyond any doubt that he/she committed a crime.

Solve disputes created from finite ...
... resources

Till you have more than one person residing together, whether it is in family or community, disputes are often created in the manner in which finite amount of resources are distributed. Thus, each community requires a law which helps to solve such disputes. This prevents a situation in which people take the reign to resolve the issues. Law maintains that peace is sustained amongst diverse opinions.

Encouraging common good

Law does not only desire to punish the accused for his/her evil acts. People residing in a community where each individual is involved in following his/her self-interest require a law which protects their common good. Such a community understands that if people acted otherwise, each individual would be a worst creature. Each community member must acknowledge that when the invisible hand of law instructs them through living life, following their self-interest and others’ interest, the community will fare much better. Thus, a community of self-interested actors is required to resolve ‘Prisoner dilemma situations’. Also, law assists to distribute property into private hands, property which might be exploited by each member of the community and thus avoids a tragedy of common situations to be caused. Law also prevents the community from taking action on the natural instinct of revenge for wrong doings done by other people.

Motivate the community to perform the right thing

Law performs an essential role in encouraging the community to perform the correct thing. It assists people to appreciate the requirement of doing right every time. This explains why several laws in majority of the communities have a big proportion of moral laws – laws made just to prevent members of the community from acting in a wrong manner. As per experts, morality is enforced to withhold the society's cohesiveness.