Description
Book SynopsisWhy do people obey the law? Law deters crime by specifying sanctions, and because people internalize its authority. But Richard McAdams says law also generates compliance through its expressive power to coordinate behavior (traffic laws) and inform beliefs (smoking bans)—that is, simply by what it says rather than what it sanctions.
Trade ReviewMcAdams’s account is useful, powerful, and—a rarity in legal theory—concrete… McAdams’s treatment reveals important insights into how rational agents reason and interact both with one another and with the law.
The Expressive Powers of Law is a valuable contribution to our understanding of these interactions. * Harvard Law Review *
McAdams’s analysis widening the perspective of our understanding of why people comply with the law should be welcomed by those interested either in the nature of law, the function of law, or both… McAdams shows how law sometimes works by a power of suggestion. His varied examples are fascinating for their capacity both to demonstrate and to show the limits of law’s expressive power. -- Patrick McKinley Brennan * Review of Metaphysics *
The question of how law affects human behavior is fundamental but surprisingly complex. This book provides the deepest analysis yet of how law works not by threatening punishment or by claiming legitimacy, but by providing information and creating ‘focal points’ that coordinate behavior. -- Michael Chwe, University of California, Los Angeles
This book presents a simple yet powerful theory of the expressive effects of law. It shows how focal points and information offer an intriguing new perspective that cuts across many fields of law. -- Henry E. Smith, Harvard Law School
