Who makes the laws and why?

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Simply put, laws are rules and regulations which guide the actions of a group of people living within a defined territory. Laws are different from other rules and regulations because they are enforcible by the state. Usually, there are penalties for violating laws.

Laws are usually made by constituted authorities. In a democratic system of government, laws are usually made by the parliament whose members are duly elected into office. Whereas, in an autocratic system laws are made by the supreme ruler whose words are laws.

Why are laws made? Over the years different scholars have attempted to answer this important question. Scholars who belong to a school of thought known as functionalism believe that laws are made for the sake of maintaining social order. They often argue that laws exist to prevent anarchy and make social interaction possible.

Contrarily, a radical school of thought known as Marxism believes that laws are made by the rich and powerful solely for the purpose of oppressing the poor. Karl Marx, a German philosopher and economist, is regarded as the founding father of Marxism. To Marxists, it will appear that while the rich rules the law, the law grinds the poor. Therefore, the laws exists to protect the rich from the poor while ensuring that the poor continue to wallow in perpetual peasantry and poverty.

In conclusion, both the functionalists and the Marxists have good answers to the question of why laws are created. In my own opinion, laws exist in most cases to prevent anarchy. Nevertheless, there are some occasions when laws exist primarily to protect the interest of the rich and powerful.