Hidden legal structures quietly lock in existing social and economic conditions
Evidence
Sometimes, though, the law affects behavior and social change in more subtle ways. It can channel behavior by making compliance easier than noncompliance. It can dic tate certain outcomes when people forget to do things or otherwise fail to act. There are also laws and legal structures that remain largely out of sight, but which serve to lock in existing social and economic conditions in ways that inhibit social change. The law is riddled with these hidden persuaders—gentle “nudges” that, collectively, have an enor mous impact on people’s behavior. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 1340
Categorization
- SEED: Potential essay angle: how legal ‘architecture’ rather than command shapes behavior and preserves the status quo.
- XREF: connects to: Municipal boundary lines perpetuate racial and class segregation — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 1349; Law shapes society while remaining society’s creation — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 1333; Public-notice laws can be technically satisfied while remaining invisible to affected communities — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 55 (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Legal structures both express and reinforce the distribution of power
#expands(0.88) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3798 - Legal writing can encode hidden agendas and power shifts.
#expands(0.74) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 449 - Functional political entrenchment works without changing formal legal rules
#expands(0.72) — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 173