A Society rarely survives without some formed code of conduct. Thus it cannot exist without law, whether it is natural law or human law. From the very ancient period of human evolution, there is certain practice going on of law.
Since then the law has referred to be a needed term in society.
So can a society exist without laws?
In order to understand this concept, first, we need to understand what society is and what law is, and in which case law is essential.
Definition of Society
According to the definition of society by many philosophers, in short, society is an association or organization of individuals cooperate and behaving with one another and lives in the same place with the same genre of interest and lives under certain laws.
It is an organized group which is controlled by some strict norms and law.
What is Law Actually?
On the other side, if we simply look at the term “law”, we shall find the law is some code of control which governs our life and ascertain what individual can do and what they cannot. According to experts, Law is kind of a set of rules that are regulated by law enforcement or agency.
There are two types of law, one is a natural law and another is human law.
Natural law formed naturally in us. It built on human nature which is formed by virtue.
Human law is more of man-made law. It is formed by law enforcement and force society to follow them.
First and foremost, the most important law we follow is natural law. Although we weren’t born with these, these are formed throughout our life. Our environment, surroundings, culture, relatives play a vital role in it.
These things help us to build our character, our conscience. There goes a saying, conscience is the highest court anyone can face. Because you may flee from any law enforcement agency, but you cannot ever flee from yourself. That staggering pain of thought for breaking the law of conscience will follow you everywhere.
That’s why these laws are so much hard to break.
Importance of Natural Law
Natural law or moral law is established upon human nature. It is an instinct which shows us what we should do and what we shouldn’t. It is natural law by which we can understand the effect of doing a bad thing, and it makes us understand being punished if we do something wrong.
Thus this law can stop our inner spirit from doing any bad thing, and inspire us to accomplish some good. Natural law helps us to build trust, love, and affection towards people and not to hurt them.
The natural law of us can help to preserve humanity thus it brings peace which is very important.
It is as important for society as the heart is important to live.
Natural laws depend on the upbringing and the environment, and everyone’s law of conscience is different. For example, homicide might not be considered a bad thing for some, which we see among serial killers.
But a standardized law system is needed for a society to function properly. It cannot operate with the variability of natural law.
This is the place man-made laws come in.
Importance of Human Law
Human law is a kind of law that is regulated and conduct by a human. To avoid chaos and form a better society there is certain law enforcement to create some law. There is some common law established and abide by people throughout the world. With such law, people can settle under some obligation of rules and norms which they must obey.
Man-made laws are the set of rules which are standardized and recognized by a nation’s policymakers keeping in the thought of the culture, literature, religion, and lifestyle of the citizens.
These laws are also very much needed, as these serve as the standard of building the conscience of the citizens. Also, fundamental rights and safety can be ensured for citizens abiding by these laws.
The society can punish anyone breaking the law, to set an example and also giving the person a chance to set things right. It is important to establish human laws for every society and every community.
The law can strictly maintain human rights and control the violation with a hard hand.
A society cannot live alone; it must contain people of different ages and types. And when diversity exists, chaos can certainly take place. If no law is formed in society, different kinds of social problems like slavery, hierarchy rules, partition, and domination will be raised.
No human rights and no basic needs will be preserved if no law has existed.
In order to live a peaceful and undisturbed life without any mess, we must have a constraint to honor the law. It may lead us to do what is require and avoid confusion which can give us a well-regulated and more disciplined society.
So a well-balanced society cannot exist without law!
If you would like to dig deeper into the philosophy about the construct of modern societies we recommend studying the Frankfurter Schools works. Especially Karl Mannheim has some excellent analysis. His books are freely available since they are now in the Public Domain. You can download them here: https://holybooks.com/the-frankfurt-school-writings-selected-works-by-karl-mannheim/