law and society Flashcards
(23 cards)
define society
The totality of people regarded as forming a community of interdependent individuals.
define pluralism
A condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society.
define multicultural
including several cultures
define social norms
Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior within a group, guiding how individuals are expected to act in various situations. They can be informal understandings or formal rules and laws that influence decision-making and social interactions.
define deviance
Actions or behaviors that violate formal and informal cultural norms such as law
define civil disobedience
A form of social protest, involving the active but non-violent refusal to obey certain laws, demands, or commands of an established authority, because they are considered to be morally wrong or detrimental
how does law impact society?
- acts as a control mechanism
- deals with consensus and conflict
- maintains control of crime
law strikes a balance between competing interests within society and the importance of fault.There is a two-way movement between law and society:
1.The law can shape social norms and behaviour
2. Society can shape the law through protests, strikes and civil disobedience
how is law a social control mechanism?
- formal control mechanism
- legally sanctioned entities enforced by sanctioned authorities
- clearly defines rights and consequences
give an example of a recent formal control
Public Order Act 2023 -
gave authorities more rights to enforce stronger actions on peaceful protesters
examples of informal social controls
- peer opinions
- cultural norms
- religious beliefs
examples of successful civil disobedience
- abolishment of the death penalty 1965
- Gender Recognition Act 2004
- Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
examples of unsuccessful civil disobedience
- 1980’s miners strike
- 1980’s riots for unemployment rates in Brixton
what are the 3 theories?
- consensus theory
- conflict theory
- labelling theory
who created the consensus theory?
Emelie Durkheim
outline the consensus theory
institutions of society work together to maintain social cohesion,
social norms are agreed and informal social controls guide society and when needed are reaffirmed by formal controls such as punishment
who created the conflict theory?
Karl marx
outline the conflict theory
society is a perpetual conflict and is controlled by domination and power,
crime is committed by both rich and poor but one is treated differently to the other with the rich getting more lenience than the poor
who created the labelling theory?
Howard Saul Becker
outline the labelling theory
law created deviance when it labels actions that are such, the act itself is not deviant but when the law labels it so then it becomes deviant,
Labelling can create deviant individuals and sections of society by attaching a social stigma to certain behaviour and that stereotypes can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy
e.g. the higher arrest rates of young black men compared to young white men
what is legal realism?
Oliver Wendell Holmes - law isn’t written in books but is in everyday practise in the courts. favour judge-made law
what did Roscoe Pound state?
that the law must deal with:
1. social interest e.g. charity
2. public interest e.g. environmental protection for health
3. individual interest e.g. hobbies
what is moral panic?
sudden concern over a group or activity, accompanied by calls for control and suppression. The news media, public officials, religious leaders, and private ‘moral entrepreneurs’ are key in focusing public attention on the issue
example of moral panic
the media exaggerated the threat of knife crime which made younger teenagers feel the need to carry knives to protect themselves due to perceived threat
