Can it be argued that all societies have law Critically discuss Essay

Can it be argued that all societies have law Critically discuss Anthropological arguments on the topic - Essay Example However, as new scholars kept on emerging, these theories were challenged. Today, some argue that contrary to the earlier assertions that all societies conform to each other at some point, not all cultures have law, thus negating the issue of conformity. In light of these debates, this paper seeks to analyse these anthropological arguments in a bid to establish if all societies have laws. Consequently, diverse groups holding different cultural behaviours forming every society, laws are inevitable. One of the reasons the topic of cultural law comes up is because of yet another controversial debate of cultural relativism. In anthropology, cultural relativism asserts that each society holds its own practices and values2. Many, if not all, of these values and practices seldom compare to other societies thus making each society unique. In a bid to ensure that the observation of these values is retained, societies tend to have laws that hold them together. Since cultures are found universally, it therefore, confirms that all societies have a law. Furthermore, cultural relativism tends to be concerned with showing respect to varied cultural laws without setting values. That is to say, one culture could be engaged in a practice that another considers bad yet the latter cannot express its disapproval. It is because of cultural relativism that different societies are able to have own law3. When not interfered with, these societies tend to form a unique setting in the society that consequently sets each other apart. Clearly, with cultures evolving from various stages, it is inevitable to have these laws. Interestingly, other scholars argue that despite the evident variance of social practices by different cultures, all tend to have a particular commonality. This group of individuals’ contest that just like there is a variance in civilization, cultures, too, take various stages4. Sachs echoes the sentiments5. He