Silbey And Ewick Theory Of Legal Consciousness

Legal consciousness refers to how people’s different conceptions of law determine whether they mobilize or resist the law (SOC216, Jan. 26). Susan S. Silbey and Patricia Ewick disclose three narratives of how people perceive the law: before the law, with the law and up against the law (2000). Individuals who are before the law fundamentally treat legality as an objective realm that is removed from their ordinary social lives (Silbey and Ewick 2000). They believe that the law is a hierarchical classification of rules that is both majestic and impartial (Silbey and Ewick 2000). In regards to ‘with the law’, legality is described and played as a game, in which existing rules can be arrayed accordingly and new rules can be invented in order to serve the individual’s interests (Silbey and Ewick 2000). Legality is described as a “terrain for tactical encounters” where

Finally, individuals up against the law perceive the law as a product of unequal power and legality (Silbey and Ewick 2000). They also believe that the law is arbitrary and capricious (Silbey and Ewick 2000). These individuals are reluctant to stand before the law because they do not have the resources to play by its rules; therefore, they often act against the law (Silbey and Ewick 2000).

Based on the comments to the recent article by Catherine Cullen, Canadians’ opinions on the legalization of marijuana are consistent with Silbey and Ewick’s three narratives on people’s perception of the law. For instance, a commenter stated: “Marijuana will be legalized and nothing will change. Life will go on” (Cullen 2016). This is a clear example of an individual who is before the law because he perceives the law as an objective sphere that is distant from his personal life. According to