Explain the key features of the consensus view of the law.
What will be an ideal response?
In the 18th and 19th centuries, consensus perspectives of law were identified as “social contract theories.” These theories stressed that law serves a necessary social function (i.e., functionalism). A major proponent of this perspective, Thomas Hobbes, argued that without either law or the state, individuals would pursue their self-interests without considering how these pursuits could affect others. To avoid such a lawless condition, individuals enter into an agreement, or consensus, to sacrifice their self-interests in an effort to form a society for the common good of all people. Criminologists from this consensus perspective maintain that 1) law reflects the need for social order, 2) law is a product of value consensus, 3) law is an impartial system that protects public rather than private interests, and 4) where differences between groups exist, law is the neutral mechanism that helps individuals resolve their conflicts.
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