BUY LAW AND SOCIETY THIRUVALLUVAR TAMIL| சட்டம் மற்றும் சமுதாயமும் திருவள்ளுவர்| 2025 | LATEST EDITION | BEST GUIDE IN TAMIL|

LAW AND SOCIETY

Although the following article has not been revised for this edition of the Encyclopedia, the substantive coverage is currently appropriate. The editors have provided a list of recent works at the end of the article to facilitate research and exploration of the topic.

The concepts of law and society refer to macrostructural phenomena. Is there a macro-oriented theory of law and society or a macro sociolegal theory to guide this field? As an interdisciplinary endeavor, the sociology of law relies upon, or is influenced by, the intellectual assumptions and propositions of general sociology and legal theory. This article will therefore consider the relationship of this field to both parent disciplines.

RELATIONSHIP TO GENERAL SOCIOLOGY

It is no exaggeration to state that the field of sociology lacks a systematically developed and precise theory of society. Although interest in macro-sociological theory building has been in evidence for the past two decades, particularly among those concerned with comparative sociology (Eisenstadt and Curelaru 1977), no such theory has yet been developed in sufficient detail and precision to guide empirical research.

This is not to deny the fact that such macrotheorists as Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and Parsons have exerted a pervasive influence on various specialties within sociology, including the relationship between law and society.

Marx. Marx conceived of law as a component of the “superstructure” of a capitalist society. As an epiphenomenon of the superstructure, it provides a rationale or ideology for preserving the existing class relations in a capitalist economy. Concepts of property and contract, for example, become instrumentalities for maintaining and reproducing class hegemony.

In other words, legal concepts and doctrines reinforce the position of the ruling class and, at the same time, become the constituents of the “false consciousness” from which the working class suffers. Implicit in this theory of law as a weapon wielded by the state in a capitalist society against the working class is the assumption that if private property were abolished and a classless socialist society were ushered in, the state would “wither away” and, with it, law would “wither away” as well.

As usually formulated, the Marxian theory of law and society is not empirically verifiable. It does not follow, however, that this theory is devoid of any empirical implications. Questions can be raised—and have been raised—concerning class bias in the adjudication of civil and criminal cases, in the emergence of significant legal norms—for example, those regarding inheritance—and in the recurrent failure of agrarian reform laws.

Likewise, it is possible to investigate a proposition counter to the Marxian thesis, namely, that the passage of laws in a capitalist state can potentially diminish the power of the ruling class vis-à-vis the working class. A case in point is the enactment of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 in the United States, which institutionalized the rights of employees to unionize and to engage in collective bargaining with employers. Research questions such as those cited above would test the validity of some propositions derivable from the Marxian theory of law and society.

In the course of developing his thesis that the division of labor is the principal source of social solidarity, Durkheim formulated his seminal idea of an “index” (Durkheim 1933, pp. 64–65).

Apart from his fame as the “father of modern sociology,” Durkheim is the originator of the concept of an “index”, that is, an indirect and “external” measure of a complex dimension of social structure such as social solidarity. That he developed the concept of an index in connection with “juridical rules” and types of laws is of particular interest to sociologists of law and legal scholars. Under the circumstances, it is indeed surprising that to date, with few exceptions (Evan 1965, 1968, 1980; Merryman, Clark, and Friedman 1979; Lidz 1979), this facet of Durkheim’s work has been neglected.

ALSO

BUY POLITICAL THOUGHT THIRUVALLUVAR TAMIL| அரசியல் சிந்தனைகள் திருவள்ளுவர்| 2025 | LATEST EDITION | BEST GUIDE IN TAMIL|