Grounds of Political Obligations-Why do people obey laws?

You pay your electricity bill, wear a seatbelt, and file your taxes without a police officer standing over you each time. None of that is explained by fear alone. This topic collects the actual reasons political theorists have offered for why people obey law even when nobody is watching.

In two minutes

The main grounds offered for political obligation are consent (agreement to be governed), benefit (return for advantages received from the State), fair play (a duty not to free-ride on others' compliance), habit and prescription (long-settled practice), and fear of sanction — each explaining a different slice of why people actually obey.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Political Science – II: Foundations of Political Obligation on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.