When Laws Are Not Enforced, Anarchy Follows

Townhall.com ^ | November 1, 2018 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Kaslin]

What makes citizens obey the law is not always their sterling character. Instead, fear of punishment -- the shame of arrest, fines or imprisonment -- more often makes us comply with laws. Law enforcement is not just a way to deal with individual violators but also a way to remind society at large that there can be no civilization without legality.

Or, as 17th-century British statesman George Savile famously put it: "Men are not hanged for stealing horses, but that horses may not be stolen."

In the modern world, we call such prompt, uniform and guaranteed law enforcement "deterrence," from the Latin verb meaning "to frighten away." One protester who disrupts a speech is not the problem. But if unpunished, he green-lights hundreds more like him.

Worse still, when one law is left unenforced, then all sorts of other laws are weakened.

The result of hundreds of "sanctuary cities" is not just to forbid full immigration enforcement in particular jurisdictions. They also signal that U.S. immigration law, and by extension other laws, can be ignored.

The presence of an estimated 12 million or more foreign nationals unlawfully living in the U.S. without legal consequence sends a similar message. The logical result is the current caravan of thousands of Central Americans now inching its way northward to enter the U.S. illegally.

If the border was secure, immigration laws enforced and illegal residence phased out, deterrence would be re-established and there would likely be no caravan.

Campus protests often turn violent. Agitators shout down and sometimes try to physically intimidate speakers with whom they disagree.

Most of the disruptors are upper-middle-class students. Many have invested up to $200,000 in their higher education, often to ensure well-paying careers upon graduation.

[Ann Archy]

I follow NO ONE!

[tx_eggman]

When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out people's hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong

Ecclesiastes 8:11

[eyeamok]

In the last two years, a number of celebrities have openly fantasized about doing physical harm to the president of the United States. Madonna, Kathy Griffin, Johnny Depp, Robert De Niro, Snoop Dogg and other stars have expressed their wishes that Donald Trump might be beaten up, blown up, cut up or shot up.

And every last one of them should have been Arrested, Booked, Perp Walked in Orange and Prosecuted, then Permanently be put on the No Fly list and Passport invalidated.

[Pearls Before Swine]

What makes citizens obey the law is not always their sterling character. Instead, fear of punishment -- the shame of arrest, fines or imprisonment -- more often makes us comply with laws.

IMHO we need many fewer laws, but those that remain should be enforced.

[Bonemaker]

“When Laws Are Not Enforced, Anarchy Follows”

Tell it to Sessions.

[UCANSEE2]

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

This is really the old view of things.

To start with, “the law” is just a codified version of what can be called “the social sanction”, the social rules embraced by the people in a place. Importantly, it only exists when the people *enforce* it. When they as a group insist on it.

This leads to the first axiom: that the people *are* the police. The uniformed police are just a convenience, and for a limited number of roles. This becomes obvious when you have a well armed society, ordinary people enforcing the law.

Parts of the social sanction can change, other parts are very stable.

A problem begins when frivolous and useless laws are passed apart from the social sanction. Non-compliance with or even breaking such laws does not create anarchy or chaos, simply because the laws were foolish and unneeded; no matter how some politician stamps his feet and insists they are essential.

Even before the United States, when the colonies were still under the Crown, there were plenty of frivolous and vindictive laws and taxes, which colonials dutifully ignored. Americans were masterful smugglers and evaders. Yet no anarchy came to be.

Today, US law is hopelessly bloated and inefficient, despite vigorous whittling by President Trump. We can but hope the midterms change congress enough to equip him with a chainsaw instead of a mere axe.

[SENTINEL]

Soros continues to steal God’s air.

[fortes fortuna juvat]

>> When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong

Ecclesiastes 8:11<<

Thanks for posting this. It lends credence to my often stated belief that in any truly civilized society defendants who are known beyond any doubt to have committed an act of terrorism, torture, or murder should, within 10 days of their apprehension, be tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and publicly hanged. No appeals and no exceptions.

[trebb]

Touche`

[RipSawyer]

“IMHO we need many fewer laws, but those that remain should be enforced.”

I cannot imagine any way for a sane person to disagree with that sentence. We have at least 100 and maybe 1000 or more laws for every one that we need and none are enforced properly.