Law A Social Mechanism for Control

Platos Crito Noam Chomskys Drug Policy as Social Control

Questions, Assignment, and Sample Paper By Andrew Gottlieb

Contents
The Goal of this Handout...2 Conversation Questions......................................3 Citations......4 Conclusions from the Readings...5 Writing Assignments...6 Outline for the SAMPLE PAPER: Law A Social Mechanism for Control7 Research...8 Specifications for Writing Assignments.......9 Sample Paper.......11

The Goal of this Handout

The goal of this handout is to help students write thoughtful and compelling essays. Rather than simply summarize, paraphrase, and interpret texts, they will be encouraged to focus on a central idea which precedes and takes precedence over purely textual analysis. The idea is to instill in students a passion for reflection and exploration. As independent thinkers, they will be encouraged to write with their own voice, making use of whatever insights they have gained not only through reading but through their own personal experiences as well. The two texts which have been provided to help students think and write about the topic of law as a social mechanism for control are Platos Crito and Noam Chomskys Drug Policy as Social Control. It is important to keep in mind that though comparisons of these two texts may be part of the writing process, the essay is not expected to be a comparison-contrast essay. The two texts are to be treated as sources used to support whatever stance the writer chooses to articulate. It is in this respect that students will be motivated not to mimic the ideas of the writers whose work they have read, but rather to weave the threads of their newfound knowledge into a framework of their own unique conception. Socrates believed that we come into this world with certain knowledge and that learning is a way of recollecting what we already know. It will be in the spirit of Socrates Theory of Recollection that the class will be conducted. Students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled but rather rich repositories of insight and understanding. They are seekers striving to build bridges between their inner world and the worlds outside the realm of their usual plane of reflection and experience. It is the hope of this instructor that the writing of his students will be filled with a passion for contemplation and a love of discovery.

Conversation Questions:
Before writing the essay, let us explore a few questions relating to our theme of law as a social mechanism for control. You may answer these by utilizing references from Platos Crito, Noam Chomskys Drug Policy as Social Control along with whatever insights you have gained from other texts, videos, and your own experiences and observations. You may find it useful to make use of the citations and explanations on pages 4 and 5 of this handout.

1. Who makes laws and how are they made?

2. How has law been used as a means for social control? More specifically, what laws have been passed with the intention favoring certain people and oppressing others?

3. Is it ever ethical to disobey the law? Do you think civil disobedience is acceptable? Refer to historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King to support your view.

Consider the following citation from Platos Crito.

But he who has experience of the manner in which we order justice and administer the State, and still remains, has entered into an implied contract that he will do as we command him. And he who disobeys us is, as we maintain, thrice wrong: first, because in disobeying us he is disobeying his parents; secondly, because we are the authors of his education; thirdly, because he has made an agreement with us that he will duly obey our commands (9). And because we think right to destroy you, do you think that you have any right to destroy us in return, and your country as far as in you lies? And will you, O professor of true virtue, say that you are justified in this (9)?

Consider the following citations from Noam Chomskys Drug Policy as Social Control.
You have to get rid of the superfluous people, and you have to control the ones who are suffering. How do you control them? One of the best ways of controlling them is by increasing fear, and hatred, and making them hate each other and fear the superfluous people. That's the way it's done everywhere, and its happening in the United States. That's where the drug war fits in (1). Every Third World society has the same structure, and that structure is now being imposed on the United States(1). The drug war is basically a technique for controlling dangerous populations internal to the country and doesnts have much to do with drugs (1). When alcohol prohibitions was instituted in the United States, the purpose was to close the saloons in New York City where immigrants and working class people came, but nobody stopped anyone from drinking in the rich suburbs. In the case of marijuana the marijuana legislation introduced right after prohibition ended stared in the border states but is was aimed at Mexicans (2). When alcohol prohibitions was instituted in the United States, the purpose was to close the saloons in New York City where immigrants and working class people came, but nobody stopped anyone from drinking in the rich suburbs. In the case of marijuana the marijuana legislation introduced right after prohibition ended stared in the border states but is was aimed at Mexicans (2). The so-called drug war was started in the 1980s and it was aimed directly at the black population.. None of this has anything to do with drugs. It has to do with controlling and criminalizing dangerous populations (2).

Conclusions from the Readings

Socrates believes the following: 1. There is an implied contract, an unspoken, unwritten, yet binding agreement between a citizen and the state, and that a citizen who disobeys the state is wrong. 2. The state is the protector and benefactor of its citizens. 3. Even if the state does harm to a citizen, the citizen has no right to retaliate.

Chomsky believes the following: 1. The state passes laws that are designed to promote the financial interests of the wealthy at the expense of the poor. 2. The state is not the protector of the people. In much that it does, it is the enemy of many of its citizens. 3. The state passes legislation that masquerades as one thing when it is really another.

Writing Assignment:
Throughout history, legal institutions have been used to oppress those who are seen as a threat to those in positions of power. As such, law has been used as a means of securing and augmenting the power of the ruling class. How and why has law been used as a social mechanism for social control? Answer this question in your essay by utilizing references from Platos Crito, Noam Chomskys Drug Policy as Social Control along with whatever insights you have gained from other texts, videos and your own experiences and observations. Write a thesis-centered essay not less than three double-spaced pages long. Be sure each essay addresses all parts of the question and follows the specification on pages 6-7 of this handout. For guidance, look at the outline on page 6 and at the SAMPLE PAPER on page 10 of this handout.

How Essays Will Be Graded

The topic of the assigned essay is law as a social mechanism for control. The thesis statement used in the SAMPLE ESSAY on page 10 of this handout is: Law has often been used not as a means of insuring that justice is served but as a social mechanism for control. All arguments in the essay will be evaluated in part according to the degree that they are thesiscentered, meaning that the instructor will grade papers in part on the basis of how well the arguments support the thesis statement. Other considerations will be coherence, organization, and general proficiency with the language which includes the ability to write grammatically correct sentences.

Outline for the SAMPLE PAPER: Law A Social Mechanism for Control
Part 1 - Introduction Write about the concept of law as a social mechanism for controlling those who are seen as a threat to the ruling class and how the hegemony of the privileged has throughout history tended to outweigh justice at the expense of the poor. Do not give specific examples or mention specific texts. Save these for the body of the paper. Part 2 - Socrates a. Socrates trial (The Apology). b. Socrates three accusers, Meletus, Aytus, and Lycon c. Socrates opposition to Athenian democratic institutions majority vote. d. Anti democratic revolutions of 411 B.C. and 404 B.C. I.F. Stone. e. The democratic revolt of 403 B.C. f. Socrates trial and execution 399 B.C. g. Socrates reasons for rejecting Critos offer. h. Speculation about Socrates view of civil disobedience. Part 3 Noam Chomsky a. The drug war as discussed by Chomsky in Drug Policy as Social Control. b. Dangerous populations. c. The law concerning gin and whiskey in nineteenth century England. d. US legislation relating to marijuana and Mexicans. Part 4 - Conclusion Make brief reference to situations not as yet mentioned concerning law as a social mechanism for control, i.e. laws relating to slavery, race, women, and religion. Restate the idea in the introduction that throughout history justice has taken a back seat to the intent of those in privileged positions to maintain and augment their power at the expense of those they have been elected or hired to serve.

Research
Your paper will be deeper and more interesting if you do some research. Look up some of the following.

Topics:
1. Alien Sedition Acts

2. Jim Crow and Black Laws 3. Patriot Act 4. Racial Profiling 5. Slave Codes 6. Socrates accusers 7. Supreme Court Cases: Dredd Scott v. Sanford Plessy v. Fergusson. 8. Thirty Tyrants

Sources:
1. America's Poor. Eds.Tara Herivel and Paul Wright. New York: Routledge, 2003. 57-59. Print. 2. Chomsky, Noam. The People in Gravest Danger. New Humanist, March 1, 2003. Print. 3. I.F. Stone. I.F. Stone Breaks the Socrates Story:An old muckraker sheds fresh light on the 2,500-year-old mystery and reveals some Athenian political realities that Plato did his best to hide. Originally published in The New York Times Magazine, April 8, 1979, pp. 22 ff. Print.

4. Plato, Benjamin Jowett, and Louise Ropes Loomis. Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, Republic,. New York: Published for the Classics Club by W. J. Black, 1942. Print. 5. Whitehead, Alfred North. Process and Reality, p. 39, Free Press, 1979. Print.

Specifications for the Writing Assignment

1. The essay must be 3 double-spaced pages. 2. The essay must be typed. 3. Font size must be 12. 4. Font style must be Times New Roman. 5. The name of the student, professor, course, and date must be flush left with a double-space between each. See example on the following page. 6. The essay must be double-spaced. 7. For citations more than one sentences, use the following specifications. See example on the following page. a. single-space b. font size 10 c. left indent at 1

right indent at 5.5.

8. Each paragraph must be indented. 9. There must be no more than one double-space between paragraphs. 10. Each page of each essay must be numbered in the upper right-hand corner. 11. Each essay must be stapled in the upper left-hand corner. 12. Documentation must include a Works Cited page and be done according to MLA formats. See example on the following page.

10 This is an example of the top of the first page of a research paper. Use double-spaces. The title must be a double-space below the date and centered. See MLA Handbook - Seventh Edition. 4.3. Heading And Title. 116. 1 John Smith Professor Abraham English 201 May 7, 2009 Greek Tragedy

This is an example of the top of the first page of a works-cited list. Entries are in alphabetical order with second lines of each entry indented (hanging indentation). See MLA Handbook - Seventh Edition. 131. 7 Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. Edited by Edward Hubler. A Signet Classic. Copyright by Edward Hubler, 1963. Print. Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oeidipus at Colonus. Translated By Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Copyright by Robert Fagles, 1982, 1984. Print. This is an example of how to do a citation longer than one sentence. In the very first year of our century Sigmund Freud in his Interpretation of Dreams offered a famous and influential interpretation of Oedipus the King:

Writing Assignment #1:

Oedipus Rex is what is known as a tragedy of destiny. Its tragic effect is said to lie in the contrast DUE DATE: #1 is due byattempts the of the semester. between supreme willAssignment of the gods and the vain of mankindweek to escape the evil that threatens them. The lesson which, it is said, the deeply moved spectator should learn from the tragedy is submission to the divineALL will and realization of his own impotence. PAPERS MUST SATISFY OF THE SPECIFICATIONS TO RECEIVE CREDIT. FOR A MORE (Trans. James Strachey) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFICATIONS, SEE THE ESSAY CHECKLIST ON PAGES 8 AND 9 OF THE SYLLABUS.

third

This passage is of course a landmark in the history of modern thought, and it is fascinating to observe that this idea, which, valid or not, has had enormous influence, stems from an attempt to answer a literary problem why does the play have this overpowering effect on modern audiences? (Knox, Bernard. Sophocles The Three Theban Plays. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Copyright by Bernhard Knox, 1982. 132. Print.)

11 Andrew Gottlieb Professor Gottlieb English 101-526 March 15, 2013 SAMPLE PAPER

Law A Social Mechanism for Control

Throughout history, legal institutions have been instrumental in oppressing members of society who are seen as threat to those in positions of power. As such, law has often been used, not as a means of insuring that justice is served, but as a social mechanism for control. It is evident that the people empowered to mandate legislation are the managers and manipulators of wealth. When in the course of history have poor people had the privilege of determining affairs of state? Elected officials may not be affluent, but they depend on the affluent to get elected. As such, their careers depend on their allegiance to privileged individuals. One who bites the hand that feeds him is likely to be deprived of another meal. The continued success of a politician depends on his willingness to pay the piper. It is in this respect that the impulse to succeed precludes whatever ethical imperatives people may like to espouse. Legislators and people involved in the making of legal decisions have often prioritized their own self interest over the needs of those they have been elected or hired to serve. Over the course of time there have been many situations in which the power of the privileged was used to oppress those who, as far as they could see, stood in their way. It has not been uncommon for ruling bodies to single out free and independent thinkers for persecution. One such situation was the trial of Socrates. His fellow Athenians felt threatened by him. Given the absence of any real evidence to support their accusations, it is fair to assume that they were

12 not motivated by a desire for justice. Socrates three accusers, Meletus, Aytus, and Lycon may well have been politically motivated. It seems they saw him as a threat to democracy due in part to his criticism of Athenian institutions. Socrates was not in favor of selecting leaders by majority vote. It is also notable that his trial took place in 399 B.C. just four years after the democratic revolt of 403 B.C. In 404 B.C. the oligarchic regime of the Thirty Tyrants had succeeded in overthrowing the democracy. Among members of this group were some of Socrates students, and so, it was by means of such association that Socrates had inadvertently made enemies in positions of influence and power. In an interview, I. F. Stone, an American investigative journalist, expressed his belief that the case against Socrates was political and that the charge of corrupting the youth was based on a belief and considerable evidence that he was undermining their faith in Athenian democracy. Stone goes on to explain that the reason Socrates was brought to trial was that in 411 B.C. and again in 404 B.C. antidemocrats had staged bloody revolutions and established short-lived dictatorships (and that) the Athenians were afraid this might happen again. And so we can see how law was used not as a means of insuring that justice was served but as a social mechanism for control. What is intriguing is that in Platos Crito Socrates, in course of giving Crito his reasons for rejecting his offer to escape from prison, defends the hegemony of the state which has unjustly condemned him to death. He characterizes the state as the protector of the people.
But he who has experience of the manner in which we order justice and administer the State, and still remains, has entered into an implied contract that he will do as we command him. And he who disobeys us is, as we maintain, thrice wrong: first, because in disobeying us he is disobeying his parents; secondly, because we are the authors of his education; thirdly, because he has made an agreement with us that he will duly obey our commands (9). (my bold face)

Socrates reference to an implied contract suggests that his reason for rejecting Critos offer is based in part on his respect for an unwritten agreement between himself and the governing body

13 of Athens. It is also evident that in relation to the state he likens a citizen to a child who must, according to tradition, obey his parents. It is in this respect that Socrates feels beholden to the state just as a son or daughter is to his or her father or mother. For Socrates, retaliation against the state is as unthinkable as a child striking a parent even when the parent abuses the child.
And because we think right to destroy you, do you think that you have any right to destroy us in return, and your country as far as in you lies? And will you, O professor of true virtue, say that you are justified in this (9)?

Socrates also asks:

Do you imagine that a State can subsist and not be overthrown, in which the decisions of law have no power, but are set aside and overthrown by individuals (8)?"

It is evident that Socrates would rather allow himself to be destroyed than to jeopardize those who are about to destroy him. He has, in The Apology, defended himself against his accusers and is clearly aware they have acted in violation of justice. In spite of his awareness of this, Socrates maintains his steadfast dedication to the preeminence of the state. As far as he is concerned, laws and legal determinations must be followed by those who have lived under its protection. To do otherwise would, in his view, be hypocritical. One cannot choose to oppose the state for ones own convenience. And so, rather than violate his principles, rather than do anything to weaken the state by opposing or resisting its resolution, Socrates prepares himself for death. The hegemony of the state precludes and takes precedence over the survival of the individual. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. And so, even where injustice prevails, where there is an erroneous verdict, a good citizen must, according to what Socrates refers to as an implied contract, succumb to the mandates of the majority. The fact that the majority is in error is, apparently, of lesser importance than the maintenance of order. It thus appears that Socrates, the most unconventional of thinkers, and

14 who opposes Critos attempt to save him in part because of his belief in following ones conscience over the concerns of the majority, is a supporter of the status quo and has, as such, lent support to the use of law not as a force for justice but as a social mechanism for control. One wonders if Plato portrayed Socrates as he did for political reasons. It is crucial to keep in mind that Plato wrote the dialogue, not Socrates. Crito is Platos dramatization of what might or might not have transpired. It has been said that Xenophon gives an entirely different account of Socrates trial than Plato. According to his account, Socrates never spoke in his own defense. So, we have reason to wonder about the veracity of Platos account. Given the fact that Socrates had been condemned to death for political reasons, if that was the case, Plato may have thought it wise to present his master as a supporter of the state rather than as a rebel. In this way, he may well have been protecting himself and his Academy. Clearly, we can only speculate about this, but it does seem strange that a man who has been unjustly convicted by a group of people whose political views he does not appear to share would be dedicated to the perpetuation of their hegemony. If my speculation concerning Plato is true, then we are presented with yet another example of how law or, in this case, a renowned philosophical doctrine concerning law and obedience, has been uses as a social mechanism for control. Socrates pronouncements, however logically presented, offer support for a ruling class that condemned a man of honor and, in so doing, violated justice. One could argue that a governing body that violates justice has also broken its implied contract and has, as a consequence, jeopardized the State. Those who oppose an unjust governing body are not responsible if the State suffers a decline since the State has already initiated its own decline by not acting in accordance with what it purports to stand for. One wonders why Socrates does not

15 consider this line of reasoning. How can one support a state that violates its own principles? Where law is unjust, is it not the obligation of a man of conscience to protest or disobey it? The potential political ramifications of Socrates espousal of the preeminence of the state are thus ominous. What if we were to apply this notion to India during the time of Mahatma Gandhi, South Africa during the time of Nelson Mandella, or to the United States during the time of Martin Luther King. Had Socrates lived during these times, would he have opposed the idea of civil disobedience? Would he have asked And because we think right to destroy you, do you think that you have any right to destroy us in return, and your country as far as in you lies? Socrates, or Plato, was probably concerned with maintaining order at a time when challenging the state could result in violence. It is also likely that he did not see the state to be unjust or pernicious. If this was the case, then it would be unwise to make universal application of Socrates unconditional support of the ruling class. Had he in lived in times where injustice and oppression were paramount, he may have not have defended the preeminence of the state as he did. He may not have propounded arguments that lent support to the use of law as a social mechanism for control. We will never know if Socrates would have supported the actions of men such as Gandhi, King, and Mandela. It is possible that in those political contexts, he would have reasoned differently. Socrates pronouncements must be seen in the context of the society in which he lived. He was an Athenian and, though he was the very archetype of an independent thinker, he was also a product of his times. It is also important to keep in mind that in Crito Socrates was discussing his own conduct. He was not writing a doctrine for others to follow. He was expressing his sense of virtue as it applied to himself in a particular situation. It is hard to believe that Socrates whose life had been so devoted to truth and virtue, would want in any way

16 to lend support to any abuse of power. For him, law by definition had to be the means by which justice was served. The notion that it could be a social mechanism for control with no regard for jurisprudence would fly in the face of everything Socrates stood for. The corruption of legal institutions did not begin or end with the trial of Socrates. If we are looking for examples of such abuse of power closer to our own time, we may find them in the writing of Noam Chomsky. In Drug Policy as Social Control Chomsky writes, In the United States the drug war is basically a technique for controlling dangerous populations internal to the country and doesnt have much to do with drugs (1). He goes on to discuss the origins of this initiative in nineteenth century England when they made gin illegal and kept whiskey legal simply for the reason that gin was the drink of the working class and whisky was the drink of the upper class. This legislation, Chomsky explains was a way of controlling the working class people (1). Other legislation, according to him, including prohibition and laws relating to marijuana, was designed to oppress immigrants, the working class, and Mexicans. As far as the so-called drug war is concerned, Chomsky maintains that the target was the black population (2). None of this, he maintains, has anything to do with drugs. It has to do with controlling and criminalizing dangerous populations, and even goes on to assert that the drug war is the U.S. counterpart to social cleansing (2). Chomskys article thus clearly delineates how governments use law as a social mechanism for control. In the minds of the legislators to whom he alludes, justice is not part of the equation. Law is a tool used by the privileged to maintain their power by oppressing those without it. The subject of law as social mechanism for control is one which demands far more examination than we can in the context of an essay of this length provide. Other examples which come to mind are legislation relating to slavery, race, religion, women, the homeless, and

17 taxation. In our current economic climate legislation dealing with taxation is an especially notable means of favoring the wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle class. Another piece of legislation that exemplifies the use of law for social control is the Patriot Act which brazenly violates some of the most cherished principles in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Clearly, justice is not the ruling principle in our world. Even in countries where leaders espouse the sanctity of human rights and the rule of law, power and privilege appear most tragically to be of greater importance. The prosperity of the few tends to override the wellbeing of the many and jurisprudence is relegated to the role of window dressing.

18 Works Cited

Chomsky, Noam. "Drug Policy as Social Control." Prison Nation: The Warehousing of America's Poor. Eds.Tara Herivel and Paul Wright. New York: Routledge, 2003. 57-59. Print. Chomsky, Noam. The People in Gravest Danger. New Humanist, March 1, 2003. Print. I.F. Stone. I.F. Stone Breaks the Socrates Story:An old muckraker sheds fresh light on the 2,500-year-old mystery and reveals some Athenian political realities that Plato did his best to hide. Originally published in The New York Times Magazine, April 8, 1979, pp. 22 ff. Print. Plato, Benjamin Jowett, and Louise Ropes Loomis. Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, Republic,. New York: Published for the Classics Club by W. J. Black, 1942. Print. Whitehead, Alfred North. Process and Reality, p. 39, Free Press, 1979. Print.