what does social change mean?
means that large numbers of people are engaging in group activities and relationships that are different from those in which they or their parents engaged in previously
is a product of a multitude of factors and , in many cases the interrelationships amon
What does it mean to say that law and social change are reciprocal?
Relationship remains controversial
Two contrasting views on the relationship
� legal precepts
� public attitudes and behavior
law
� determined by the sense of justice and the moral sentiments of the population
legislation
� can only achieve results by staying relatively close to the prevailing social norms
conditions that transform the social and economic order of society
� contemporary society is characterized by a great division f labor and specialization in function
Social change as a cause for legal change and the examples given
� creation of legal innovations to protect the individual in modern society
� provisions for workers compensation
� unemployment insuarance
� old age pensions
� Medicare
social change in fast paced, urban industrial city
� cyber crime number three for FBI
� of the legal response to a social change, which inevitably comes after a time lag, induces new social chnages
what do Friedman and Dror say about law and social change?;
� former soviet union succeeded in making enormous changes in society by the use of laws (Dror)
� the law - through legislative or administrative responses to new social conditions and ideas, as well as through judicial re-interpretations of constitutions
changes from civil rights era as example of change due to law know this.
� In the united states, the law has been used as the principal mechanism for improving the political and social position of blacks
� Old order was wept away by legislation, including the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965
� more b
Indirect aspects of law
� Change by shaping various social institutions, which in turn have a direct impact on society
and direct aspects of law in social change,
� for example mandatory school attendance upgraded the quality of the labor force, which, in turn, played a direct role in social change by contributing to an increased rate of industrialization and modernization
Friedman's Planning
� Refers to architectural construction of new forms of social order and social order and social interaction
friedman's � Disruption
� Refers to the blocking or amelioration of existing social forms and relations
friedman's � Litigation (rechtsstreit)
� An American phenomenon, will go over to other countries?
� No socialist or authoritarian country will tolerate anything like the American form of judicial reviews. Their legal structures are not designed to accommodate these patterns
institutionalization
� Refers to the establishment of a norm with provisions for its enforcement (such as desegregation of public schools)
internalization
� means the incorporation of the value or values implicit in a law (for example, integrated public schools are "good")
What are the seven conditions law must meet if vcit is to be successful?
1. The law must emanate from an authoritative and prestigious source
2. The law must introduce its rationale in terms that are understandable and compatible with existing values
3. The advocates of the change should make reference to other communities or
Friedman and ideas about law and legitimacy
� Legitimacy is related to right and justice; without a clarification of what is to be understood by the rightness and justice of law, legitimacy cannot be comprehended either. (Hitlers rule was legal but it was not legitimate. It had a basis in law but n
Advantages of law in creating social change
� (know them in creating social change-advantage of law over other forms, re morality and values associated with law?
� Law has advantages against protest and stuff like that
Tend to be more focused and specific
Deliberate, rational, and conscious effort to alter a specific behavior or practice
Law in society is seen as legitimate, more or less rational, authoritative, i
Types of legitimate authority,
Weber (some review for us since we looked at this on test one-know these well)
� "imperative coordination" as the probability that specific commands from a given source would be obeyed by given groups of persons
� Three types of legitimate authority
� Traditional
� Charismatic
� Rational
� Traditional
Authority bases its claims to legitimacy on an established belief in the sanctity of traditions and the legitimacy on an established belief in the sanctity of traditions and the legitimacy of the status of those exercising authority
� Charismatic
Authority bases its claim to legitimacy on devotion to the specific and unusual sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of an individual and normative patterns that are revealed or ordained.
(illustrations of individuals with charismatic authority inclu
� Rational
Legal authority bases its claims to legitimacy on a belief in the legality of normative rules and in the right of those elevated to authority to issue commands under such rules
The binding force of law �issues surrounding obedience;
� Law is binding because most people consider it to be
� People follow the law because they feel
Sanctions (John Stuart Mill's notion of the law)
What are the limitations of using law in creating social change?
The possibility of prevailing conflict of interest, which tends to determine which laws are promulgated and which alternatives are rejected
� The divergent views on the law as a tool of directed social change and the prevailing morality and values
� The l
Weber's insights
� Many laws are created to serve economic interest
� Economic interests are among the strongest factors influencing the creation of law
� Conflict of interest provides the framework in which laws are framed and change is brought about. Society will determ
Policy Instrument
� Often used as an instrument of change outside of the context of a broad policy-making framework
� Judicial decisions are generally not rendered a policy instrument, because of the adversary nature of litigation, legislative and administrative reforms de
Morality and values-know all of this section very well.
� Society owes its existence less to its institutions than to the shared morality that binds it together
� Morality and values affect the efficacy of the law in social change
� Changes in external behavior are, after a while usually followed by changes in
Resistance to change
often change is resisted because it conflicts with traditional values and beliefs and prevailing customs, or cost too much money
� vested interests
� change may be resisted by individuals or groups who fear a loss of power, prestige, or wealth should a new proposal gain acceptance
� acceptance of almost any change through law will adversely affect the status of some individuals or groups in society,
� social class
� rigid class and caste patterns in general tend to hinder the acceptance of change
� in most cases, for the upper classes, there is a tendency to cherish the old ways of doing things and to adhere to the status quo
� ideological resistance
� resistance to change through law on ideological ground s is quite prevalent
� in general, the basic intellectual and religious assumptions and interpretations concerning existing power, morality, welfare, and security tend to be rather consistent and ad
� organized opposition
� occasionally, widespread individual resistance to change may become mobilized into organized opposition, which can assume formal organizational structure
Psychological factors
� All of the forces which contribute to stability in personality or in social systems can be perceived as resisting change
� habit
� psychological perspective, habit is a barrier to change
� motivation
� acceptance of change through law is also conditioned by a variety of motivational forces
� example: desire for prestige or economic gain
� ignorance
� generally associated with resistance to change
� goes hand and hand with fear of the new
� it seriously distorts perception and judgment
� selective perception
� the intent of the law, however, is selective and varies with socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic variables
� the way a law is written, as I noted earlier, also affects perceptions
� individuals tend to interpret and perceive the meaning of the law
� moral development
� limits of law, in other words, appear to be curvilinear with respect to moral development
� fatalism
� entails a feeling of lack of mastery over nature
� people have no control over their lives and everything that happens to them is caused by god or evil spirits
� results in resistance to change
� ethnocentrism
� some group in society consider themselves "superior" possessing the only right way of thinking
� ethnocentrism often constitutes a bulwark against change
� Incompatibility
Resistance to change is often due to the presence in the target group of material and system that are, or considered to be, irreconcilable with the new proposal
� Exists in a culture, change comes about with difficulty
� Superstition
� Is defined as an uncritical acceptance of a belief that is not substantiated by facts
� Where such superstitious beliefs prevails, change efforts through law or other agents will meet some resistance
Economic factors
� Limited economic resources often act as barriers to such change efforts.