Social Order & Law - Class notes PDF

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SOCIAL ORDER & LAW The term social order can be used in two senses: In the first sense, it refers to a particular system of social structures and institutions. Examples are the ancient, the feudal, and the capitalist social order. In the second sense, social order is contrasted to social chaos or disorder and refers to a stable state of society in which the existing social structure is accepted and maintained by its members. The problem of order which is central to much of sociology, political science and political philosophy, is the question of how and why it is that social orders exist at all.A feudal society has four distinct social classes: a King, Nobles, Knights and Peasant class. Historically, the king owned all the available land, and he portioned out that land to his Nobles for their use. The nobles, in turn, rented out their land to peasants. The peasants paid the nobles in produce and military service in the form of Knights/Soldiers; the nobles, in turn, paid the king. Everyone was, at least nominally, in thrall to the king, and the peasants' labour paid for everything (taxes etc).

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BULLET POINTS Today every civilzed country has a form of Central Govt./State Govt that take part in ruling of the people according to Laws which is written in nature. During Middle Ages there was absence of such govt and written laws and accordingly there was no written laws. Therefore, the people of medieval europe created their own govt in which the King was given the highest position. At that times there was a dire need of protection and justice for the people. There was a feeling of insecurity and injustice in the minds of the people and that ultimately lead to the formation of the feudal govt, in which the King was treated as God and his order were regarded as command. Basic purpose of the feudal govt was to maintain Social Order among different groups of people so the rules made by the King were given the shape of Law and basically implemented by the appointed Nobles/Lords for their defined or allotted territory to maintain social order and law. The King ruled all over the territory under his possession and his position was that of a God because his rules/laws were applicable to all persons under his possession and it was mandatory to follow them as command of King. The Nobles were given the responsibility of the Estate by the King to maintain Law & Order in their specific terrritory. They provided military support to the king in the times of War (External Aggression & Internal Disturbance). They were the class of persons who were very Loyal to the king and it was the duty of the nobles to implement all the rules/laws that was made by the king for the smooth running of the govt and ultimately for the welfare of the Kingdom. The Knights/Vassals/Soldiers belonged to Social Class. They were actually related with the Nobles who fought battles & wars during External Aggression & Internal Disturbance for maintainting social harmony between the peoples of the kingdom which ultimately helped King for smooth functioning of the govt. They were conferred with the title “Knights” by the Nobles because they were known for their bravery, loayality & generousity. The Peasants belonged to the lowest level of the strata of feudal social order. For example slaves, artisans, craftsmen, serfs etc. They constituted 85% to 90% of the total population and played a vital role in the formation of the feudal govt. They had fear of injustice and feeling of insecurity among themselves that ultimately lead to the formation of the feudal govt and they followed each and every rule/laws of the King as order of the God.

Punishments :- (ELABORATE BY YOURSELF) a) OSTRACISM :- to boycott the guilty from the society. b) RIDICULE :- to make mockery of the guilty person in the society. c) DENIAL OF FAVOUR :- excluding the guity from the benefits given by the King. d) AVOIDANCE :- exclude the guilty from Social gatherings/public meetings etc.

Relation between Law & Social Order :-

1) Law maintains public order. Sometimes this is expressed as Law & Order. Law has the advantage over both i.e. the feud and the more informal alternatives in that. It provides rationalised and conclusive settlement to dispute which is the subject matter of public scrutiny. Another aspect of maintaing the public order is the supression of bad behaviour. What is regarded as bad behaviour differs as the socirty changes. In an open society this is matter of public debate and controversy. 2) Law forces social order by facilitating cooperative action. Law recognises certain underlying basic intellect and provides for framework of rules/acts/statutes for giving effetct to them. 3) Law constitutes and regulates the principle organs of power(Legislature, Executive & Judiciary). It provides for succession to power and define who has the right to exercise what kind of power in the society. 4) Finally Law communicates and reinforces social values. Law has always enforced some morality. Even the most primitive legal order seeks to regulate matter such as murder, homicide etc. With the growth of collectivism and welfare state, a wide range of matter formally left to the individual in conscience has made the subject of state control through law. At other times, parliament has legalised to regulate behaviour in advance of or in accordance to the public opinion and has used the law partly as an educated medium. (Ex- Delhi Gang Rape Case which ultimately lead to birth of new laws and certain amendments in the existing Laws)

NOTE :- The above study material is only for reference purpose and students are further directed to elaborate the above topic basing on the classroom discussion....