Legal Construct, Social Concept: A Macrosociological Perspective on LawTransaction Publishers, 1993 - 182 páginas Based on sophisticated demographic analysis, Legal Construct, Social Concept argues that legal doctrine on social issues is shaped by the needs and values of society rather than by individuals and interest groups and that it evolves in response to social change but has little impact on that change. The book also explains why a substantial body of social science research has found that although law may be effective for some types of economic problems, its impact on social problems is generally small and of brief duration. At least in the United States, legal doctrine seems to operate primarily to provide symbols that enhance commitment to the social system and increase the cohesiveness of the system. Barnett's approach to legal thought derives from the practices and assumptions of the social sciences, particularly sociology, and not from those of critical legal studies. His main concern is with social issuesâ issues that substantively differ from economic issues. In addressing legal thought on social problems with the conceptual framework and quantitative techniques of macrosociology, he considers a topic that is infrequently investigated and employs an approach that is infrequently used. To illustrate this thesis, Barnett presents data on social patterns relevant to three current issues: sex discrimination, age discrimination, and the availability of contraception and abortion. His analyses of these data are compared to constitutional philosophy, judicial rulings, and federal statutes. Barnett then turns from the evolution of legal doctrine in the past to its possible change in the future and considers whether active forms of euthanasia are likely to be legalized. He concludes with an exploration of additional issues for future research and theory. |
Contenido
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
Data Types and Casual Inferences | 5 |
Science and Legal Thought | 7 |
Organization of the Book | 9 |
Notes | 10 |
THE THESIS | 13 |
A Macrosociological Approach | 14 |
An Illustration | 19 |
Appendix | 91 |
Notes | 94 |
CONTRACEPTION AND ABORTION | 99 |
The Data | 102 |
A Preface to the Data Analysis | 106 |
The Contraception Cases | 107 |
The Abortion Cases | 112 |
Conclusion | 128 |
Knowledge and Population Size as Societal Attributes | 22 |
Conclusion | 24 |
Appendix | 26 |
Notes | 36 |
GENDER | 47 |
Equal Rights Amendment | 55 |
Conclusion | 61 |
Notes | 63 |
AGE | 73 |
Factors Affecting the Social Definition of Age | 75 |
Age Discrimination in Employment Act | 78 |
Conclusion | 90 |
Notes | 130 |
Euthanasia | 139 |
Societal Forces Promoting Euthanasia | 140 |
The Impact of Statues Banning Euthanasia | 152 |
Conclusion | 155 |
ISSUES FOR RESEARCH AND THEORY | 161 |
Theoretical Issues that Arise from Existing Research | 162 |
A Priori Theoretical Issues | 167 |
Conclusion | 170 |
175 | |
Otras ediciones - Ver todas
Legal Construct, Social Concept: A Macrosociological Perspective on Law Larry Barnett Vista previa limitada - 2017 |
Legal Construct, Social Concept: A Macrosociological Perspective on Law Larry D. Barnett Sin vista previa disponible - 2010 |