Consequences: The Impact of Law and Its Complexity

Canada and the United States increasingly rely on law to grapple with complex societal issues. What is the impact of this growing dependence on law and legal systems? W.A. Bogart offers a timely and erudite investigation of the impact of law on societies, and how this excessive reliance on law, particularly litigation, has generated difficulties in achieving consensus regarding issues of domestic policy.

Focussing mainly on the United States as the center for post World War II legal culture, the book takes into consideration other western countries, and allows the reader a comparison of legal systems. Consequences begins by documenting the growth of law and the reasons for its enhanced influence; the book then discusses the complex meanings of impact and the substantial difficulties in gauging outcomes produced by law. Bogart illustrates his discussion with five case studies, documenting law’s complex ties to economics, education, and political issues, and asserts that positive outcomes have occurred despite litigation’s disappointing record. Consequences is a timely, important and interdisciplinary contribution to the study of law and sociology, and will make a substantial addition to the studies of law and society.