On Wed, 6 Nov 2002, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
> Do you mean there were no institutionalized (even if unwritten) rules of
> social interaction in pre-historic societies? Fercrissake, Miles, your
> view of humanity is wrose than that of animals? Ever heard of the
> pecking order?
>
Does rule of law mean rules of social interaction? If so, I agree that the rule of law exists in almost all societies. But I think it's a little strange to blur the differences between the rule following in hunting and gathering societies with the formal, bureaucratic legal institution and legal codes that exist in industrial societies. I thought my point is clear, but I'll make it just once more: human history clearly demonstrates that people can live together effectively without formal, codified laws or a legal system to enforce the laws. That said, I agree with JKS that we'd be much worse off in the U. S. today without this formal legal apparatus.
Miles