Purpose Of Law Essay

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What is the purpose of law for the individual and for society? The purpose of law has been discussed for a long time. Whole books have been written on the subject and different conclusions have been reached. Laws enable governments to exist and it is the responsibility of governments to uphold the law. Many believe that law is connected to morality but is law distinct from morality? Different philosophers have different ideas on this. Thomas Hobbes believed that men are naturally corrupt and that we need a strong system of government to keep us in check. On the other hand, Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that men are born pure and that the system corrupted men. While, Montesquieu believed that at birth man is like a blank sheet of paper and …show more content…
Laws may also carry out social policies. This means that the government will make programs to provide certain services. An example is in Canada the law grants individuals benefits if injured on the job, insurance for the unemployed, student loans and health care.
Public and private law Laws can be placed into two different categories; public and private law. Public law regulates the relationship between the individual and society. While private law, also known as civil law, regulates the rules between individuals or groups. The examples of public law are constitutional and administrative laws. For example private law includes law of contracts.
Criminal law is at the same time private and public law because includes prosecutions by the state against offenders.
Conclusion
Laws are essential for functioning of every modern state and application of the laws equally to all members of society is the key factor in distinguishing developed and functional societies from dysfunctional and even failed states. Can we say for sure that without law there would be no order? No, because even without laws in a society there will always be unwritten rules, spoken rules. Even still, without the law humanity would have not developed this

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