When Laws Backfire: Unintended Consequences of Public Policy

Why is it that so many laws perpetually fall short of their intended goals? Why haven't humanity's greatest minds managed to solve basic social ills? This article amasses considerable evidence suggesting that (a) law is inherently incapable of producing major social change because legal re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American behavioral scientist (Beverly Hills) 2004-07, Vol.47 (11), p.1376-1394
Main Author: Roots, Roger I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bureaucracy
Government
Policy Implementation
Public Policy
Social Inequality
Social Welfare
Taxation
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Why is it that so many laws perpetually fall short of their intended goals? Why haven't humanity's greatest minds managed to solve basic social ills? This article amasses considerable evidence suggesting that (a) law is inherently incapable of producing major social change because legal restrictions unsettle social equilibria & generate counteractions & (b) the subconscious purpose behind many laws is the promotion of social solidarity for its own sake. The author concludes that laws & the politics that forge them are essentially religious practices that have little basis in rational analysis. Thus can be explained both the perpetual failure of many laws & their irreconcilable popularity. 83 References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2004.]
ISSN:0002-7642
DOI:10.1177/0002764204204265339