Societal Norms

According to Merriam-Webster online, a rule is defined as, “a usually written order or direction made by a court regulating court practice or the action or parties, or a legal precept or doctrine.” Rules are a necessity for civilized society because without them everything would turn to chaos. Without rules and guidelines set by the government, people could do whatever they want whenever they want without any consequences. In Lord of The Flies, proper rules and punishments weren’t applied and everything slowly escalated to chaos. There would probably be mass murder, rape, theft, and much more happening at a much higher rate. Punishments serve as a deterrent to potential criminals to not commit crimes. In a society with laws, a potential criminal might not murder someone because he is afraid of said punishment. In a lawless …show more content…
Societal norms are basically informal understandings regarding behavior of a society. For example, in some African countries, it’s acceptable for people in movie theaters to yell frequently and make loud comments about the film. In the United States, people are expected to sit quietly during a movie, and shouting would be unacceptable. Since law has been around for so long in human history, it isn't only law, but an understood social norm not to commit crimes. Social norms promote order in civilized societies. It also promotes cooperation between citizens. Social norms also deter people from commiting crimes and behaving strangely. People inherently want to fit in with their crowd, so they will conform to the social norm and try not to commit crimes and behave strangely in fear that they will be alienated by their surrounding