The Need for Law

Bearing in mind that laws are not the only rules of social regulation the question has often been posed as whether there is any need for law at all. Indeed, self titled prominent ‘thinkers’ have argued that laws are not only undesirable and unnecessary, but are pure evil. They often urge that law relies on violence thus perverts and corrupts a man’s true nature.

These opinions are generally based upon a belief either in the inherent goodness of man, or at least his perfectibility by an appropriate type of education. Those who advocate this view see man in his natural condition as intrinsically peace-loving and disposed to live harmoniously with his neighbours. They claim that the evils of human society and its laws corrupt and divert man from his true nature. In contrast, many other thinkers have considered that the life of man in his natural condition without the benefit of a social order supported by law would be nothing but a state of perpetual warfare and unrest. 

In my opinion, both of these viewpoints represent extremes and that in reality the regularity and predictability necessitated in an ordered society require some form of law. In particular, it provides the member of society with the guarantees they require against the disruption of their social and economic activities. 

Law provides the basis of a stable society. It ensures in large measure, survival, freedom and the possibility of building and maintaining that type of civilisation in which those who are equal are treated equally in the legal process, and in which ‘natural justice’ prevails. 
Law tends to trail behind public opinion. The reason is that the legislators take time to react to public opinion. This was true of the Abortion Act 1967, when the government gave into public lobbies and protest and made abortion legal. By contrast, in recent surveys the majority of people in the country are in favour of the death penalty, but Parliament steadfastly refuses to reintroduce it. There are pros and cons to every argument.