Critical Traditions in Law & Society Research

As made apparent by the title of this post I read the Silbey and Sarat article of the same title. The article discusses a criticism of the law & society field in general. It claims that some members of the field have lost their critical eye, and they instead take on a more traditional view of their field. The concern here is that, according to the authors, law & society is an ever-changing area that cannot ever be allowed to stray from a critical viewpoint.

One point made by the authors stood out to me. That came on page 170, where they state that in American society we have a view of law as arising from an external neutral source. In my experience I would have to disagree with this statement. I understand that my experiences have largely taken place in Ithaca for the past 3 1/2 years, an area with its own political climate, and these experiences have also been during the past 8 years under the incredibly criticized Bush regime. But, as I said, it is my experience that many Americans raise a lot of questions over any law passed that they have any reservations about. There is certainly a large sum of the American people that simply believes that all laws are for the best, but I don't believe that it is enough of a majority for the authors to make this statement.