Gypsy law

How do the members of societies that can't use government or simple ostracism produce social order? To investigate this question I use economics to analyze Gypsy law. Gypsy law leverages superstition to enforce desirable conduct in Gypsy societies where government is unavailable and simple ostr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public choice 2013-06, Vol.155 (3/4), p.273-292
Main Author: Leeson, Peter T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anarchy
Beliefs
Boycotts
Communication
Communities
Cooperation
Economics
Economics and Finance
Environmental pollution
Estimates
Government
Gypsies
Human Body
Larceny
Law
Ostracism
Political Science
Public choice
Public Finance
Religion
Ritual pollution
Rituals
Romani people
Social Control
Social cooperation
Social interaction
Social Order
Society
Superstition
Superstitions
Taboos
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Summary:How do the members of societies that can't use government or simple ostracism produce social order? To investigate this question I use economics to analyze Gypsy law. Gypsy law leverages superstition to enforce desirable conduct in Gypsy societies where government is unavailable and simple ostracism is ineffective. According to Gypsy law, unguarded contact with the lower half of the human body is ritually polluting, ritual defilement is physically contagious, and non-Gypsies are in an extreme state of such defilement. These superstitions repair holes in simple ostracism among Gypsies, enabling them to secure social cooperation without government. Gypsies' belief system is an efficient institutional response to the constraints they face on their choice of mechanisms of social control.
ISSN:0048-5829
1573-7101
DOI:10.1007/s11127-012-0048-4