Law is the body of rules created and enforced by social or governmental institutions to ensure a peaceful society. The precise definition of law is a topic of long-standing debate, with many books and articles exploring different ideas and approaches.
The primary purposes of law are to impose standards, maintain order, resolve disputes and protect liberty and rights. Some systems of law are more effective at achieving these goals than others. For example, an authoritarian government may keep the peace and maintain the status quo but it will also oppress minorities and prevent social change. A more democratic political system may be less effective at achieving these goals but it will more likely promote economic justice and preserve individual freedoms.
Depending on how it is defined, law may encompass everything from specific laws, such as those that prohibit murder, to the entire legal profession. It can include all the disciplines and professions that deal with advising people about laws, representing them in court or giving decisions and punishments, such as lawyers or judges. It can also refer to a particular geographic area where a certain set of laws are in place, for instance a nation’s laws.
A key question in the philosophy of law is whether or not it incorporates morality. Utilitarian theorists such as Jeremy Bentham argued that it is morally right to obey laws that reflect the interests of the majority and that provide incentives for obedience. The natural lawyers of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Aquinas, on the other hand, argued that laws are derived from innate moral principles and that they are unchanging.