"If men were angels, government would not be necessary." - James Madison "America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without
civilization in between." - Oscar Wilde In our last lesson we seemed to suggest that societies needed values, norms or laws to regulate behavior. Hopefully we all agree this is true. But how do such values, norms and laws come into existence? Why don't people choose to live in chaos, an atmosphere without rules and organized behavior? How, when, why and where did humans decide to live in organized and regulated communities? For most of pre-history (before written records) man was a nomadic hunter and gatherer following game as it migrated from place to place. These simple, traveling societies were ruled by a clan chief whose authority was most likely derived from his (sorry ladies) size and strength. The chief probably had his choice of food, shelter and partners to mate with. You get the picture. Others could challenge the chief and, depending on whether they won or not, they could assume control, stay with the clan under the chief, or move on to join another clan, etc. Because they were nomadic hunter and gatherers, they could always leave. Because people could leave, there was less need for rules that would allow them to live together. But about 15,000 years ago, in the Middle East at the end of the last Ice Age, things began to change as the ice receded. Game animals increased the range of their habitat making hunting a bit more difficult while at the same time the warmer climate made it easier to grow crops. The dawn of agriculture, also called the Neolithic Revolution had begun and mankind would never be the same! The results of the Neolithic Revolution are astounding. Though farming maybe more labor-intensive than hunting in the short run, a farmer can easily produce enough food to sustain many members of the community. Seeds and crops can be stored making it possible for others to engage in non-farming occupations. Thus societies expanded at an amazing rate. Because not everyone had to farm, there was also a corresponding "specialization of labor" with laborers, merchants, artisans, warriors and nobility. Monetary systems were created so that people could more readily exchange goods and services (always based on an agricultural equivalent - thus images of farm goods on coins and bills!) But perhaps most importantly, because people were now literally tied to the land for their sustenance (food), there rose a need for organized government to establish rules and laws for the good of society. Every society or culture has values or those ideas and things considered important by its members. These values transmit into norms of behavior which tell members how to act. Read this article (link) to answer the questions below. 1. Summarize three norms from the article which you find most striking or different from the norms you are used to. 2. Go to google.com and do a search on "strange customs" or "strange world customs." In your own words explain three that you find particularly weird. 3. In just a sentence or two, what advice would you give a friend planning a vacation to a foreign land? While all values are important, some norms are certainly more important than others. You should stand during the playing of the national anthem, but nothing with happen if you don't. On the other hand, murder is a crime punishable by death in some states. Mores (like morals) are norms that express a society's ideas of right and wrong and are considered essential to group welfare. Folkways are preferences for certain behaviors (like standing during the anthem) and are not demanded or forbidden ways of behaving. 4. List the following five actions in order. Starting with mores, or those most essential to the good of our society, descending to those which are folkways or preferred ways for citizens to act. For each write a short sentence explaining your reasoning:
Many laws reflect the mores of a society and through them its values and norms. In fact, specific behavioral norms are often specified by law. For instance, murder, rape, arson and theft are illegal in most societies. Of course the extent to which laws are enforced and the punishment for violating them differs among cultures. The U.S. system of justice has both misdemeanors and felonies. Misdemeanors carry a fine or short jail sentence while felonies are punishable by at least one year in prison. Many people, often young people, accuse the government of trying to "legislate morality" by enacting and enforcing laws they find to intrusive or restricting. 5. What law or laws do you find to be "too intrusive" or unnecessary and why do you think so? 6. Citing the same law or laws, can you explain how that law attempts to re-enforce society's values? In other words, if the law is too burdensome and intrusive, why DO we have it? Those who choose to ignore or violate society's norms and laws are said to be deviant. It must be noted that deviance is relative - meaning that what is considered wrong in one time and place, may not be at other times or places. Also, that murder is wrong, but the death penalty is legal and countries make war in the name of peace, makes clear that there are exceptions to what societies consider right and wrong. There are many theories as to what causes deviant behavior. Some believe that deviant subcultures breed criminals. Examples would include gangs or neighborhoods in which crime is so rampant it is almost expected and accepted. Other believe in the "labeling theory" which says that once someone is perceived as deviant, they will continue to be deviant fulfilling the expectations of others. Think about the trouble makers in a school. Once the teachers and administrators see a student as a trouble maker, that student is continually subjected to scrutiny, suspicion and blame - even if they are innocent. Emile Durkheim believed that modernization was responsible for deviance. That it was our impersonal, modernized, technological and permissive society which weakened people's commitments to values, norms and laws. Robert Merton proposed that because our society was based on competition and the accumulation of wealth, people who could not compete and accumulate through legitimate, acceptable means would choose deviant alternatives. Consider the poor inner-city youth who nonetheless would like to own expensive athletic shoes or clothing - what's he to do? This is not to say that people from certain areas, social class, etc. are less moral than our society at large. It is only to recognize the pressures placed upon certain members of our community. 7. Explain who do you think has a better theory Durkheim or Merton or do you have your own theory? 8. Why do you personally think people choose deviant behavior? 9. Can you cite an example of a behavior which is considered deviant today, but was acceptable in the past? 10. Can you cite an example of a behavior which is considered deviant in the U.S. but is accepted in other cultures? 11. Can you cite an example of a behavior which is accepted in the U.S. but is considered deviant within another culture? 12. Do you believe that deviants are doomed to be deviant or can they redeem themselves? Finally, read this article "Paradox of Our Time" which was widely circulated on the Internet. 13. Which point or statement hits you the hardest and why? 14. Can you offer some piece of proof that things in our world are actually better - or improving? 15. What are your core values and how do you transmit them to others? |
