If laws don't work, why do we have them?

by **colum** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:01 am

gun laws wont prevent people from getting guns illegally, drug laws don't work, and people still kill in spite of murder laws, so why don't we just do away with the whole legal system?

by **westbroc90** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:10 am

Laws exist to punish criminals not prevent crimes.

by **ayize** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:13 am

Cause a lot of people follow them which keeps everything more in control? Just cause people break the law doesn't mean that they're gonna drop all of them and say **** it do what you want. Laws are there and they come with punishments.

by **kenway** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:23 am

so after you have done your dastardly deed you can be punished.

by **karlitis** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:27 am

To keep order.

by **ardwyad** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:31 am

make people feel better.

by **yehudi** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:35 am

Actually enforcement of laws do work in that they do provide demonstrable disincentives towards crimes as well as statistical correlations towards reduction in crime with increased enforcements. The question is which things should be considered criminal, and do the costs of enforcement of a given "crime" outweigh the potential benefits of a decrease in that activity? Even alcohol prohibition had a strong effect on reducing consumption but we eventually realized that the negative externalities of enforcement were much worse than alcohol abuse itself.

by **salvadore94** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:38 am

Actually enforcement of laws do work in that they do provide demonstrable disincentives towards crimes as well as statistical correlations towards reduction in crime with increased enforcements. The question is which things should be considered criminal, and do the costs of enforcement of a given "crime" outweigh the potential benefits of a decrease in that activity? Even alcohol prohibition had a strong effect on reducing consumption but we eventually realized that the negative externalities of enforcement were much worse than alcohol abuse itself.

There is a big difference between Common Law, and the "legal system".

Common Law has three principles, very ancient, tried and true, and agreed upon by all of humanity:

You must not injure or kill anyone.
You must not steal or damage things owned by somebody else.
You must be honest in your dealings and not swindle anyone.

Those must be enforced for any civilization to survive. (Notice, though .... they all involve a perpetrator and a victim. Being forced to pay for a "business license", for example, is not lawful. It is "legal" means of generating revenue.)

by **curadhan74** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:44 am

You haven't proven your "IF".

by **bellden** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:58 am

They often do work to maintain a framework of order within society .Most people do function within the limits of the law. Without laws, there would be Mad Max type anarchy. Only a small percentage of people who have a strong core of morals and ethics don't need laws. Laws aren't even necessary for them.

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