Lying About the Authority of the Law
Document Type
Book Review
Publication Title
Law & Liberty
Publication Date
10-11-2021
Abstract
(Excerpt)
In his insightful new book, Fictions, Lies, and the Authority of Law, Steven D. Smith, the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego, takes on an old question. Why do people obey the law? Put aside what Justice Holmes famously called the “bad man’s” view, that people comply because they fear the state will otherwise inflict punishment on them. In a healthy society, most people don’t think that way most of the time, and aside from totalitarian dictatorships, states lack resources to pose a credible threat of relentless enforcement. The state usually won’t catch you, and if fear were the only reason for following the law, a legal system would collapse. People obey the law in most cases because they believe it has authority for them, a legitimate claim to their loyalty and deference. If its claim to authority disappears, law loses its purchase, and people start to ignore it. In extreme situations, the stage may be set for revolution.
Comments
Available at: https://lawliberty.org/book-review/lying-about-the-authority-of-the-law/