Order without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes

Ellickson, Robert

ISBN 10: 067464168X / ISBN 13: 9780674641686

Published by Harvard University Press (edition ), 1991

With dust jacket. It's a preowned item in good condition and includes all the pages. It may have some general signs of wear and tear, such as markings, highlighting, slight damage to the cover, minimal wear to the binding, etc., but they will not affect the overall reading experience. Seller Inventory # 067464168X-11-1-29

Synopsis:

In "Order without Law" Ellickson shows that law is far less important than is generally thought. He demonstrates that people largely govern themselves by means of informal rules - social norms - that develop without the aid of a state or other central coordinator. Integrating the latest scholarship in law, economics, sociology, game theory, and anthropology, Ellickson investigates the uncharted world within which order is successfully achieved without law. The springboard for his theory of norms is his close investigation of a variety of disputes arising from the damage created by escaped cattle in Shasta County, California. In "The Problem of Social Cost" the economist Ronald H. Coarse depicts farmers and ranchers as bargaining in the shadow of the law while resolving cattle-trespass disputes. Ellickson's field study of this problem refutes many of the behavioural assumptions that underlie Coarse's vision. Drawing examples from a wide variety of social contexts, including whaling grounds, photocopying centers, and landlord-tenant relations. Ellickson explores the interaction between informal and legal rules and the usual domains in which these competing systems are employed. "Order without Law" grounds its analysis in real world events, while building a broad theory of how people cooperate to mutual advantage.

Review: " A fascinating book... Ellickson's clean prose and considerate rhetorical style are refreshing. -- William Fischel "Land Economics" This immensely interesting, wide-ranging, wellwritten, learned, and contentious book--a superb analysis of extralegal regulation--will command a large readership among academic lawyers and social scientists, and may in the fullness of time come to be regarded as a classic of interdisciplinary legal scholarship."--Richard A. Posner, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit "[A] fascinating book... Ellickson's clean prose and considerate rhetorical style are refreshing.--William Fischel "Land Economics " A welcome addition to the new literature on conflict, law, and informal social control in contemporary societies... [Order without Law] constitutes one of the most eloquent and powerful attacks yet on the widespread belief that government lies at the heart of social order in the modern world.--M. P. Baumgartner "Contemporary Sociology " Uses theory and ethnography to explain norms in a manner that sociologists would do well to imitate. [Ellickson] presents evidence in an objective style that allows readers to reach their own verdicts, and his skillful storytelling accentuates his theoretical acumen.--Jason Jimerson "American Journal of Sociology "

Bibliographic Details

Title: Order without Law: How Neighbors Settle ...
Publisher: Harvard University Press (edition )
Publication Date: 1991
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included