The Sociology of Law in America

Abstract

To understand the development of the sociology of law in America, one should view it in the context of a society characterized by three fundamental conflicts. First, American society asserts an egalitarian value system, yet displays quite apparent social stratification, including something like a caste distinction. Second, although a strong tradition of local autonomy, direct citizen participation in government, and primary group controls persists in the minds of many Americans, the country itself is presently more urban than rural, national than local, and its systems of social control and communication are becoming increasingly depersonalized. Finally, although America often visualizes itself as a nation composed of individual capitalists, the major economic power of the nation is held by large scale organizations — government, business corporations, also labor unions — in which the social, economic, and political fate of thousands, sometimes millions, can be determined by the decisions of relatively few persons.