Mod #5
After looking at all of these readings, I have come to the conclusion that law is effective at making changes, however the changes that are made benefit only those in power and help to maintain the status quo.
Law is a very powerful tool for those in power to use to create changes in our society. The downside to this is that the changes are generally in place to protect the interests of those in power and the interests of the minority or powerless tend to get overlooked. It was stated in Vago, that law as an implement of change can be viewed in the context of the organization of power and the processes by which interests are established in everyday social life, the resulting changes might very well be evaluated in those terms. I think this describes our law perfectly. Those in power decide what laws should be established, decide how to enforce those laws and what the punishment should be for breaking those laws.
I think that Rosenberg stated it correctly when he said it is naïve and romantic belief that rights will triumph over politics. I don’t think individuals rights will ever be valued over politics. We live in a society that favors the rich and powerful and creates laws to protect them, at the cost of many liberties of the non-rich and non-powerful. Karl Marx recognized this when he stated that laws are created to serve special economic interests, and that the laws are in place to protect those with the greatest economic interests or those who control the ownership of material goods.
Some factors that prevent the law from becoming an effective tool for social change are resistance to change, vested interests, habit and ignorance. Vago stated that situations of resistance to change are much more numerous than situations of acceptance. Often the resistance to change is due to it’s conflict with traditional values and customs. Those in power are often afraid of change because of certain vested interests, they fear losing power or wealth due to a change in policies. A societies habits are also a barrier to change. Once habits are established it is hard to break them or even perceive things could be different. Ignorance is a profound barrier to change and tends to accompany fear, especially fear of the unknown.
I do believe that law can be effective at creating changes. I just wonder who benefits from these changes. Those in power have the power to create social change and yet they use that power to protect their advantageous position in society.
Web content:
I found a website that discussed social, economic and political change. It had links to reports, theories, data sets and the history of social change. Some of the theories we have discussed and several others were all on this site. www.gsociology.iaacp.org
So what:
Well the readings and internet site only confirmed my beliefs that we live in a society that values wealth and power over almost anything else. I now believe that our government strives to maintain the status quo and I have little faith in it changing any time soon.
Law is a very powerful tool for those in power to use to create changes in our society. The downside to this is that the changes are generally in place to protect the interests of those in power and the interests of the minority or powerless tend to get overlooked. It was stated in Vago, that law as an implement of change can be viewed in the context of the organization of power and the processes by which interests are established in everyday social life, the resulting changes might very well be evaluated in those terms. I think this describes our law perfectly. Those in power decide what laws should be established, decide how to enforce those laws and what the punishment should be for breaking those laws.
I think that Rosenberg stated it correctly when he said it is naïve and romantic belief that rights will triumph over politics. I don’t think individuals rights will ever be valued over politics. We live in a society that favors the rich and powerful and creates laws to protect them, at the cost of many liberties of the non-rich and non-powerful. Karl Marx recognized this when he stated that laws are created to serve special economic interests, and that the laws are in place to protect those with the greatest economic interests or those who control the ownership of material goods.
Some factors that prevent the law from becoming an effective tool for social change are resistance to change, vested interests, habit and ignorance. Vago stated that situations of resistance to change are much more numerous than situations of acceptance. Often the resistance to change is due to it’s conflict with traditional values and customs. Those in power are often afraid of change because of certain vested interests, they fear losing power or wealth due to a change in policies. A societies habits are also a barrier to change. Once habits are established it is hard to break them or even perceive things could be different. Ignorance is a profound barrier to change and tends to accompany fear, especially fear of the unknown.
I do believe that law can be effective at creating changes. I just wonder who benefits from these changes. Those in power have the power to create social change and yet they use that power to protect their advantageous position in society.
Web content:
I found a website that discussed social, economic and political change. It had links to reports, theories, data sets and the history of social change. Some of the theories we have discussed and several others were all on this site. www.gsociology.iaacp.org
So what:
Well the readings and internet site only confirmed my beliefs that we live in a society that values wealth and power over almost anything else. I now believe that our government strives to maintain the status quo and I have little faith in it changing any time soon.
