Is law a necessary evil? Absolutely yes. Many of us do not like the complete bureaucracy that the legal system is, and equal among us despise lawyers. Nevertheless, all of these roles within the legal system have a purpose, and the legal system as a whole is necessary. For as long as there has been civilization, there has been law in one form or another. From the Code of Hammurabi to the Geneva Conventions, law has existed in some way, shape or form since the beginning of recorded history. The reason it still exists is that we absolutely need it for the development and progress of our society. If law were not necessary, it would have simply ceased to be applied and practiced. In the present day law plays unlimited importance in how our society is structured, stratified and regulated. In the present day, without law Canada as well as the rest of the world would decline into complete anarchy and disarray almost immediately. One such reason that we need law to maintain order is that humans are inherently a vicious and hostile being and that law and fear of punishment is required to keep these primal desires in check. Another such factor for the necessity of law is that left to themselves in a natural environment, humans need not be governed by law. However when humans participate in a society, law is required to ensure a stable and safe society for all member. This stable and safe social environment is paramount to the nurture and upbringing of humans and without it, chaos would ensue. Thirdly, while law was not required in pre-historic times, at the dawn of civilization the need for law was obvious. Law became needed due to such reasons as property and ownership, and indeed some believe this to be the very basis of all law. As well on a more general note, the very rule of law itself prevents tyranny. Without the rule of law, the strong and powerful would dominate the lesser of us and tyranny would ensue. All of the above points are equally valid to why we need law, and each point will soon demonstrate what happens when there is no rule of law. However, some may argue, primarily anarchists that law is not required for a society to function. These individuals claim that despite justice being blind it is not impartial and therefore should be abolished. While I do agree that the rule of law is not perfect, if law were to be abolished the descent of man would soon follow.

It is help in wide belief by many, such as Hobbes and myself that humans are inherently vicious and hostile beings. That being so law is required to maintain order in society. Hobbes on the establishment of a sovereign to establish a judicial and system of rule said, “In such condition, there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving, and removing, such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and sovereign and consented to and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Essentially what Hobbes is saying, is that without rule or law society would degrade into a prehistoric state. Hobbes believed humans are voluntarily ruled by law by entering a social contract. Without law, we would essentially be where we were roughly 10,000 years ago. We would be in constant conflict with one another for the most basic of resources and as Hobbes said, life indeed would be, “…nasty, brutish, and short.” One such example of what results in a primarily lawless society is Somalia. The country due to its recent political changes is essentially lawless, with some regional non-centralized systems of law such as Civil, Shari’a and Xeer. As a result of non-responsible un-centralized law, justice and punishment is often based on retribution, and can have very dire consequences for the perpetrator. Somalia at this current time is a failed state and is not recognized as sovereign. Due to this and its failed legal system we see groups of armed warlords roaming the country terrorizing and stealing from other people, without fear of consequence. However, some people join these groups as a means of survival, because they know that in their country, they have no legal backup and often these groups are often the only chance of survival they have. However, these warlords are not the only people who took advantage of Somalia’s lawlessness and lack of international recognition. In the eighties and nineties, several western powers such as the United States used Somalia’s lawlessness to their advantage. Due to the countries in-ability to enforce its own territorial borders and lack of recognition by international law, many countries began dumping toxic wastes of the coast of Somalia. This resulted in two things, first the creation of an ecological nightmare and secondly the creation of the Somali Pirates we hear so much about in the media today. Due to the state of lawlessness in Somalia today, more than 70 percent of Somalis support the pirate fleet as a means of protecting Somalia’s undefended territories. Somalia is the perfect definition of a lawless society and what results due to the lawlessness. We have warlords roaming the land, some legal systems, but justice is mostly based off harsh retribution, and we also have its people supporting piracy because it is the only protection they have due to no international legal representation. Due to this lawless state life for many in Somalia, in Hobbes own words is,”…solitary, brutish, and short.”

Another such reason for the requirement of law is that when humans lived primarily solitary lives in nature law was not required. This is due to the fact that the actions of one could not affect an entire group of the species. However as humans developed and organized into civilization law was required due to humans living in much closer social proximity. Owing to this, the ill actions of one could affect many individuals and thus law was developed as a means of deterring this behavior and bringing justice about when it did happen. Law was also developed as a means of preventing crime and deviance from corrupting and destroying our society and creating an inappropriate social environment. This uncorrupt social environment is paramount and without it, chaos and anarchy would ensue. An example of a society with a legal system, but one that failed to provide an appropriate social environment would be Rome. While the Roman Empire did have a very well structured legal system, in fact one of the first that was so well structured it required a person of special occupation and training to understand. However, their legal system was largely based around issues of property and ownership; they did not however have adequate tax laws, laws limiting political terms or laws dealing with morally questionable issues. In regards to tax law the Romans went on to devise a system of tax collection, which eventually became totally corrupt. Tax collectors would bid to collect taxes and then pay a fixed sum to the Senate. They then had to go and collect that amount. The tax collectors or publicani as they were called, usually ordered more taxes to be paid than they had originally contracted for, and pocketed the surplus. We can see how this would lead to corruption and would hurt the economy. Rome also had very inadequate laws regarding terms in power such as the senate or laws regarding the power of the emperor. Due to this, we often saw prominent political figures such as the emperor Tiberius or Nero wielding absolute power in the face of the law. This caused wide spread corruption in the senate and the Roman society as a whole. Roman law also did not deal with questionable issues such as prostitution and slavery. Prostitution in Rome was largely unregulated and even under Christianity was unchallenged. This Prostitution caused a degradation of values and morals in Rome and greatly undermined the empire. We also had wide spread slavery in Rome. Romans were utterly dependent on slaves for day-to-day work, and because there was no law regulating slave treatment or sale there was several slave revolts. These revolts greatly hurt the Roman economy and caused long lasting effects. The lawless that can be seen in Rome resulted in many undesirable things happening. However, these three particular things resulted in a widespread decline in ethics and values, widespread unemployment of the working class due to unregulated slave labour, a failing economy and massive inflation, and an overall decline in morals. Due to these factors, Roman law failed to provide an appropriate social environment, and this overall corrupted social environment can be contributed as one of the factors for the decline of the Roman Empire. We can now see why it is of such importance to have a legal system in place that ensures an appropriate social environment is in place to ensure positive human development.

Before civilization and in prehistoric times law was not required, but at the dawn of civilization, the need for law became blatantly obvious. Law was primarily developed as a means of settling disputes over land and property, and many actually believe this is the very basis of all law. One of the very first surviving sets of codified law is the Code of Hammurabi. This code laws out a basis for living in society in a productive manner. This set of laws is largely based on retribution and restitution; in fact this is where the expression “an eye for an eye” comes from. The code is believed to be based off a much earlier code from the Sumerian civilization. Sumer is believed to be the oldest civilization on the face of the earth and therefore law was most likely first to emerge there. An example of a typical legal issue from this time would be livestock death as a result of neglect. Now in present society we would just compensate the owner. But what would happen in a lawless society? Most likely there would be a long and lengthy dispute that would often end in violence. However, in the Code of Hammurabi there is actually a specific clause for exactly this kind of case, “If the herdsman overlook something, and an accident happen in the stable, then the herdsman is at fault and must compensate the owner of the cattle or sheep.” Nevertheless, let us assume the herdsman did not accidently kill or harm the livestock. There is actually a clause in the code that prevents him from being prosecuted if the harm was caused by an act of god. We can see that the code, although quite antiquated is the basis for much of the property law we have today. Rather than simple disputes over property being settled through violence or other draconian measures, the code enforces a system of restitution in regards to property law and other petty crimes. What this does is make sure both parties feel they received justice, neither person feels that they have been over looked. Going back to our sheep issue, when this case would have been brought before the court and the defense was found guilty; justice would have been properly and fairly enacted. The plaintiff would have been awarded a new sheep or equal compensation and the defense although not happy that he has lost, would still feel that fair justice has been rendered on him. Without law, society and civilization would not have progressed very far, simple disputes over property and ownership would have resulted in feuds and pure chaos. These feuds would span years and in the end both sides would come out feeling like they both lost. A legal system prevents just that, it ensures justice and fairness and strives to provide a speedy resolution to disputes.

Law and even more specifically speaking the very rule of law prevents tyranny. John Locke said, “Wherever Law ends, Tyranny begins.” This particular quote holds very true, even today. Without law, a tyrant would cease control and would wield absolute power. This tyrant would be able to do whatever he pleased, without fear of repercussion. An example of a modern day tyrant would be Silvio Berlusconi of Italy. While Silvio was elected by popular vote, once in power things got out of hand. He has alleged ties to organized crime and is thought to have embezzled millions of dollars. When he was brought up on charges of corruption however, he did something that is completely contrary to the rule of law. Silvio Berlusconi legislated, and was successful in passing a bill that granted him complete legal immunity. He was essentially above the law. Thankfully, Italy does have a system of law, and the Italian Supreme Court eventually repealed this law and Berlusconi is currently on trial for corruption. Nevertheless, imagine what could have happened if the law were not repealed, what would happen in a society where the rule of law is not upheld. The Tyrant could do whatever he pleased and would not be challenged; he would wield absolute power in the face of society. An example of this type of tyranny would be Louis the XIV of France, who once famously said, “I am the State.” and, “It is legal because I wish it.” Louis is another perfect example of a tyrant who exercised absolute power outside the confines of the rule of law. Louis was one of the last absolute monarchs and for good reason. He started many unpopular wars and greatly hurt France’s economy, and he was able to all of this because he had no one to stop him. When his son took the throne, France was in massive debt and people were growing very angry of the state of things. This eventually lead to the French Revolution and then to tyranny of a different kind. Thankfully, in our society we have the rule of law that strives to prevent these things from happening. Thanks to the rule of law, we will never have to worry about a tyrant taking control of our country and effectively driving it into the ground. However, if we did not have the rule of law and an effective legal system we need only look to the past to see what would happen. Drawing on what Locke said again, “Whenever law end, Tyranny begins.”

Based upon supporting evidence from all of my points it is quite evident that we need law in Canada. Without law, justice in Canada would not exist, and our society would cease to develop; anarchy and chaos would quickly ensue. However, some people; primarily anarchists and libertarians argue that in our society we need no law. These individuals argue that our current system of law is corrupt and that justice is in fact not blind. They are partially correct; there are some flaws in the concept of law. Nevertheless, these flaws can be worked out over time, without law nothing could ever be worked out. This is because the very essence of law is about working things out and coming to a sensible verdict that ensures both parties were treated fairly. As well as Hobbes noted, the very nature of human beings gives rise to the need for law, and without it, our existence would be miserable. We need look no further than Somalia for an example of this. Another reason for need of law in our society is society itself. Without law, our society would become corrupt and degenerate. For an example of this fact, we need only look at the Decline of Rome, and how it was caused through corruption and legal loopholes. In our society the very same thing would happen, there would be a failing to provide an adequate social environment and as a result of this, corruption and chaos would ensue. Furthermore, law became a necessity at the dawn of civilization. Law became needed primarily as a means of settling disputes over ownership and property. Without law, even the simplest of disputes, like the one I outlined earlier would turn into bitter ordeals without a fair resolution for both parties involved. The very rule of law itself also prevents tyranny. Rule of law ensure that no one is above the law and that no one may wield absolute authority in the face of the law. However, even in societies governed by the rule of law a tyrant can emerge. Silvio Berlusconi of Italy is a perfect example, however in the end justice prevailed and he was once again subject to the rule of law. This shows us why law and justice is required, it helps prevents tyrants from emerging and in the event that they do, it quickly removes them from absolute power. We can now see that we absolutely need law in Canada and the rest of the world. Without law we would be doomed, society would crumble and civilizations would be torn apart. Soon after the fall of law, the descent of man would follow.

Works Cited

Al-Jazeera. (2008, October 11). Toxic Waste Behind Somali Pirates. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from Project Cencored: http:// www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/3-toxic-waste-behind-somali-pirates
Hobbes, T. (1651). Leviathan. London.
Horne, C. (1915). The Code of Hammurabi. Forgotten Books.
Kreis, S. (2009, August 3). Lecture 11. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from The History Guide: http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture11b.html
Locke, J. (1689). Second Treatise of Government. London: Awnsham Churchill.
Telegraph. (2003, June 18). Berlusconi granted legal immunity. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1433356/Berlusconi-granted-legal-immunity.html