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- QUESTION
Laws 51.1002CV – Winter 2020
Introduction to Legal Studies II: Processes and Power
Assignment 1
The Task:
Compose a brief essay (500-750 words or 2-3 double-spaced pages) that responds to the question below. Be sure to provide references for all quotes, paraphrases and ideas included in the paper and taken from any resource other than your own brain. Please refer to the Department of Law & Legal Studies Style Sheet to ensure you are formatting references (and everything else) correctly. Also ensure you run a spell and grammar check on your paper before you submit it (really; trust me - this matters).
Your paper is due before 4:30 p.m. on February 3 (remember, it’s a DEADline – which means you will not be able to upload your paper after 4:30; try to submit early, if you can, to avoid the rush).Please submit your paper via the portal on CULearn; papers submitted in any other fashion will not be accepted. You may not email your paper to your TA unless you have her or his express written permission to do so.
The Question:
In his essay on Law, State and Class Struggle, Alan Hunt observes that “…the distinctive feature of legal systems of class societies is the fact that they embody the material interests of the ruling class in a universal form and thus present the law as the embodiment of the interests of the community as a whole” (Processes and Power, p.10). While there are many ways that law does this, among the most important are law’s power as a form of both ‘ideological domination’ and ‘coercive domination. Define and explain the role of law in ideological and coercive domination and thus the reinforcement of existing social relationships in our society. In composing your explanation, be sure to:
- Define ‘ideological domination’ and ‘coercive domination’, and do so with reference to Gramsci’s conception of ‘hegemony’ which is essential to Hunt’s understanding of ideological domination in particular
- Explain how law functions as a form of ideological and coercive domination as per Hunt’s article, using examples.
Evaluation:
Your essay will be evaluated out of a possible total of 20 marks, and will focus on the degree of completeness and understanding of Hunt’s theory and specifically the concepts of ideological and coercive domination. Marks will also be allocated to your discussion of your example and to the overall quality of the paper as regards style, grammar, syntax and referencing (hence the advice on spell and grammar checks, above).
Good Luck!
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Answer
The Role of Law in Ideology
Ideological hegemony, which is imposed by the members of the dominant class, is regarded as an ideational manifestation of a social order which has its basis on coercion. Through the implementation of the sociological theory, it is possible to provide an evaluation to depict if the issue of ideational or coercive factors offer the central ground for social order. Ideological domination maintains and outlines a requirement that a valuable consensus exists within an empirical world (Traina, 2019). This suggests that ideological domination refers to the ideas and beliefs shared by a majority of people within a given society. On the contrary, coercive ideation provides a depiction of the fact that the ruling class will dominate the ideational institutions within the society (Platsas, 2017). This provides an indication that in both cases, a consensus value is inexistent. Moreover, it is also recorded that there is a high concentration of economic control and wealth which seems to extend into fundamental political and ideological areas, hence, implying that a dominant class exists.
Gramsi’s Conception of Hegemony
Having in mind the presented definition of ideological and coercive domination, the ideological hegemony concept is introduced as a fundamental concept which defines the Marxist view regarding social order. Notably, Gramsi’s theory of hegemony is founded within the notion of how the capitalist state is conceptualized. Gramsi suggests that the capitalist state rules by implemented consent and force. Noticeably, the political society is regarded as the fundamental realm of force while the civil society is considered as the fundamental realm of consent (Griffin, 2006).
Law as a form of Ideological Domination
Law is ideological based on the fact that it transmits or conveys a complex set of values, attitudes and theories about different societal aspects. The ideological content of law establishes a part of the dominant ideology based on the fact that the attitudes and values are the ones which legitimize and reinforce the social order which exists in a nation (Hunt, 1985). A common example of law as an ideological denomination is founded on the case of legal rules and social relations. Evidently, the most pervasive ideological effect of law is founded in the issue that legal rules can be applied to provide an effect to the prevailing social relations. The rules of law affirm the existence of social and economic relations which are common within a capitalist nation.
Law as a form of Coercive Domination
Law has a coercive character in that the legal system has the ability to call upon the organized power of the state. The noted repression can operate both through specific institutions available in a region such as from the courts to the prison system. Additionally, it can also operate more through the police system which is defined by a wide range of powers which are further sanctioned by the law but still able to operate within a considerable degree of independence (Hunt, 1985). Legal coercion serves at various levels. However, one which is provided with greatest importance includes the application of coercion to offer protection to the general conditions associated with capitalist order. For instance, it is evident that coercion is applicable with an aim of protecting and reinforcing the property relations available within the capitalist nation. One of the common examples of legal coercion includes applicability of law to ensure direct protection of the state. Notably, the state is provided with armory measures which can be invoked with an aim of defending the political order such as in the cases of treason (Hunt, 1985).
References
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Griffin, R. (2006). Ideology and culture. Journal of Political Ideologies. 11. Hunt, A. (1985).The Ideology of Law: Advances and Problems in Recent Applications of the Concept of Ideology to the Analysis of Law, Law & Society Review, 19(1), 11-38 Platsas, A. (2017). At the Crossroads of Law and Ideology: The Ideology of Law as a Reflection of Social Ontology?. Wroclaw Review Of Law, Administration & Economics, 7(2), 1-13. Traina, C. (2019). Liberation Through Law. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 20(2), 265-267
Appendix
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