Who rules //
No Laws - Freedom or Chaos?
Let's imagine there's suddenly a newsflash. All laws have been abolished so that people can live as they like and do whatever they want. What could happen next? How would people react?
Key Points
- Laws prevent chaos occurring – they are a way of keeping control.
- Laws can be made for just about everything – alcohol to marriage.
- Laws, in a democracy, don't have to stay the same. They can be changed.
- For a law to be effective it needs to be supported by the majority of people.
A man wielding a knife runs away with a bag of money after looting a branch of the Central Bank of Iraq in Mosul. After the Iraqi army abandoned the town, a vacuum developed and law and order broke down.
Freedom at last?
Iraq was a dictatorship. If people stepped out of line then there were serious consequences, but now there were none. Occupying forces seemed to lose control. People were free from the restrictions placed upon them. They took furniture, smashed up shops, hijacked cars and knocked down statues and reminders of the past.
Looters said that Saddam had taken all their rights as people. They saw it as their turn to take what they could from him. Some believed that this was what freedom meant. Many people in Iraq had never felt free under their government. Once the dictatorship had gone they wanted to feel freedom more than ever.
Interesting Facts
- In some countries where law and order has broken down, international forces help to keep the peace.
- In the UK, it wasn't until the mid 1800s that laws were made to help and protect women. Until then women were considered to be the property of their fathers or husbands.
- It is very difficult keeping law and order on the internet. It is currently estimated that 92% of music downloads are illegal.
Big Questions
- Do you think that what people were experiencing in Baghdad was really freedom?
- We are considered to be free in this country – do you think we are? Why? Why not?
- What might happen if all laws were abandoned? Do we need laws to be free?
