Social Engineering

Social Engineering

October 29, 2007

Social Engineering

Before laws or a land without laws would be a chaotic place for humans to live. Since there have been social communities there have been a need for laws to control the moral and ethical issues that come when two or more people come together. These laws or rules are intended to help make everyone understand what one may think or the government thinks that the right moral and ethical ways for everyone to conduct themselves. For this to work the government must think that one would like to morally and ethically right when they live their lives. The government knows that this is not the case and therefore has set up laws and consequences if one breaks one or more of those laws.

First one must understand what is meant by social engineering, “the law can exert powerful control over human conduct, some have suggested that it can be purposefully used as a tool to intentionally shape society.” (Schmalleger 2002) This means that those in power or that make the laws, have the ability to control the actions or influence actions over those that they rule or govern. This would assume that the people that are ruled or governed intend on following the laws or rules. Since this is not a realistic goal the government must make consequences to those that do not wish to follow the laws or rules. Society as a whole must believe and follow the rules or laws for there to be any since of moral and ethical norm and that only the few not follow the rules or laws. Roscoe Pound writings expressed this type of concept in the “jurisprudence of interest” to show that the basic purpose in a free society, like the United States, is to satisfy as many claims or demands of as many people as possible. (Schmalleger 2002) As one can tell that these claims and demands can and have changed over the years and therefore must be continually changed and updated.

I am a firm believer that most wish to be morally and ethically right in their daily lives and the reason for so many criminals is the complexity of the laws and the large number of laws. One of the first issues that would need to be addressed is how to limit the number of laws and to make them as simple that everyone can understand them. Some language in some laws have opened doors to interpretation that while one thinks that they are not breaking the law others may believe that they are breaking the law. To simply simplify the laws would be one of the first issues that would need to be addressed.

Second, the United States was founded in the reference that this would be the land of the free, with many forms of freedoms. I would insure those freedoms and keep it