The Legal Sociology of Customs: William Graham Sumner

Abstract

In this essay we have attempted the theoretical notions of social evolution (so-called
social-darwinism) put into sociohistorical context the law’s development and parallel to it the
social progression. First of all, in this research we have to involved Herbert Spencer theories
about the social and economic changing who has presented the unavoidable changing in society
between to the militant and homogeny society into the industrial and heterogenic society. That
is most important because he was as an intellectual mentor of William Graham Sumner’s
theoretical approaches. Because of above mentioned and – especially the evolution of societies
and their rules – we have tried to focus to Sumner’s statement concerning the relationships
between the folkways, rights, duties, costmary law, and connection with the positive law. The
folkways (like language, habitual behaviours) are necessary for welfare of society but these
rules will be presented in written form and our society is thinking about it like an unchangeable
norm, but there are about just ways of norms. As a consequence of it the first goal of sociology
of law: describe the customs, explain them and try to present a harmony of the mentioned
spheres of human behaviours.