Legal Culture: Legitimacy and Morality

Abstract This chapter discusses the role of legitimacy, morality, and other factors in explaining how people respond to legal acts. In some cases, people’s willingness (or unwillingness) to obey the law is influenced by their own internal moral compasses; in others, people respond largely to social pressures, including peer pressure. People’s willingness to obey the law may also depend upon their sense of whether the law is legitimate, and, more broadly, their level of trust in the government. The chapter also discusses civil disobedience and backlash to changes in the law, including examples from the Civil Rights Movement and the controversy over abortion rights.