{"product_id":"the-force-of-law-9780674368217","title":"The Force of Law","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMany legal theorists maintain that laws are effective because we internalize them, obeying even when not compelled to do so. In a comprehensive reassessment of the role of force in law, Frederick Schauer disagrees, demonstrating that coercion, more than internalized thinking and behaving, distinguishes law from society’s other rules.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eModern jurisprudence has been devoted to a search for law’s necessary and sufficient conditions and has downgraded the importance of coercion, which is neither. However, Fred Schauer makes a convincing case for coercion’s importance in understanding law and legal phenomena. His treatment of the topic is erudite, comprehensive, rigorous, and even witty, and it is delivered in a superb writing style. -- Lawrence A. Alexander, University of San Diego School of Law\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Force of Law\u003c\/i\u003e has the virtues of all of Schauer’s work: clear and accessible writing, the grounding of persuasive arguments on good examples and a wide range of scholarship, and fair consideration of opposing views. It is an important contribution to jurisprudential debates about the nature of law and about the proper approach to theorizing in this area. -- Brian H. Bix, University of Minnesota Law School\u003cbr\u003eDrawing upon language, moral, sociological, and economic theory, Schauer explores what makes legal norms unique and why and under what conditions individuals truly obey the law. He asserts that although coercion may not be the only reason people obey the law, often getting individuals to act in ways they would not normally act requires some type of force. This force need not necessarily be negative coercion as normally conceived but can involve an array of sanctions to condition behavior in specific ways. -- D. Schultz * Choice *","brand":"Harvard University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49917761290583,"sku":"9780674368217","price":32.36,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780674368217.jpg?v=1738449092","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-force-of-law-9780674368217","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}