I was asked for those four propositions of conflict theory from last week:
Chambliss and Seidman have summarized conflict theory in four
propositions:
1. Society at every moment is subject to change; social change is continuous.
2. Every society experiences at every moment social conflicts.
3. Every element in a society contributes to change.
4. Every society rests upon constraint of some members by oth
Here are my notes from the Roby article. They summarize how you might
go through an article and lay out key themes for the future short papers:
Pamela Roby's Conflict View
Conflict theorists, despite their critical examination
of power relations, tend to accept the fundamental existing
social arrangements, and instead of arguing for NEW SOCIAL
SYSTEMS tend to argue for rearrangement of existing relations.
Pamela Roby studies the political factors underlying revision of
New York State's laws on prostitution (1967). She
identified a number of stages a law goes through, each of
which involve social, political, or other conflicts, which
may shape law.
Her primary question: UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS WERE CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS ABLE TO SHAPE THE LAW IN THE MANNER IN
WHICH THEY INTENDED? Each stage can itself be a focual
point of analysis. Her study suggests that theorists should
examine the HUMAN ACTIVITY underlying all phases of the legal process,
and not just focus on the form or content of law itself. In the
following model, Roby describes one view of how is enacted, enforced,
or changed.
A group or segment within society:
1. Becomes aware of a given behavior or problem
2. Labels the behavior as needing correction
3. Comes to define the behavior as deviant (needing neg-
ative sanctions)
4. Comes to see the labelled behavior as harmful to its
interests (and therefore needing to be repressed in
the "common good")
5. Believes it has the capacity to shape laws (ie, rec-
ognizes that source of laws are "in people")
6. Attempts to shape law at one or more stages of law's
development: a) formulation; b) enforcement; c) ju-
dicial administration d) penal administration.
7. Or, conversely, groups opposed to changes in law may
be opposed to the efforts, and repeat above steps in
opposition.
8. Obviously, some groups win or loose. The point, how-
ever, is that NOT ONLY are there "victors," but that
a given law reflects a variety of social tensions
that tend to be missed if we only study the philoso-
phy, form, or contents of specific laws. The law as
pased and enforced reflects the norms of some groups
and denies the norms of other groups (eg, "gay
rights," "drinking laws") and affects the lives of
those to whom it is applied.
9. The process continues, and so it goes. . . .
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Las don't just "happen," they are a SOCIAL PROCESS
2. In formulation of law, one group may obtain its in-
terests in the writing of a particular article, while
another may do so with respect to another section of
law.
3. Some groups are able to modify enforceent and target-
ting AFTER the law is written
4. Some groups are able to amend the law at a later date
5. Above all: Law is CANNOT be understood as
a historical
a political
technical
value free
POINT: LAW IS A SOCIAL PROCESS!!!!