Law in Contemporary Society

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WinningTheLottery 10 - 07 Feb 2009 - Main.GavinSnyder
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Today, in the midst of the broader discussion of the Arnold reading, Professor Moglen talked about “winning the lottery”. I’ve thought about this frequently – that the place where I am today, and indeed most of the places I’ve gone in my life, were predetermined by the time and place where I was born. Obviously there have been choices made along the way, but I’m not interested in addressing how frequently these choices were actually conscious decisions or to what extent a conscious decision can even be reached. Rather, I’d like to address the issues that arise for me when I presume that my privileged position in life is largely due to random chance.
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 The nature-nurture distinction that Anja brings up is also, I believe, very relevant. Its worth noting that there is something of a correlation between the life experiences and the career goals of students here. Individuals who grew up in a certain environment want to replicate that level of prosperity for themselves. A natural tendency, and something that I can recognize in my own thought processes, but is it something we should resist or accept?

-- WalkerNewell - 07 Feb 2009

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Anja,

Interesting question! I think people come to law school for many different reasons.

Some possibilities:

  • Greedy
  • Like to argue
  • Interested in the law
  • Like writing
  • Power-hungry
  • Want to help people
  • Want to change society
  • Nothing better to do/seemed like a good idea at the time
  • Parents shamed them into it
  • Want prestige/respectability
  • Like charcoal and navy, hate pastels
Some of these reasons seem more legitimate than others. Intuitively, "justice" is "better" than "greed" (is it really?). Moglen wants to redirect people to "justice."

But is that really possible in a classroom? Doesn't it have to be like a religious experience, where one has a revelation that gives him faith, because it can't be derived by logic? In the real world, people rarely change their minds by being argued with. They do it because their gut decides for them. That would be your visit to Poland. So how can we be for "justice" if we haven't had the same type of epiphany?

-- GavinSnyder - 07 Feb 2009

 
 
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Revision 10r10 - 07 Feb 2009 - 07:07:36 - GavinSnyder
Revision 9r9 - 07 Feb 2009 - 03:24:31 - WalkerNewell
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