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Robert C. Ellickson
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Order without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes

by Robert C. Ellickson (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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In Order without Law, Robert 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 Ellickson’s 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 most frequently cited article on law―economist Ronald H. Coase 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 behavioral assumptions that underlie Coase’s vision, and will add realism to future efforts to apply economic analysis to law.

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 firmly grounds its analysis in real-world events, while building a broad theory of how people cooperate to mutual advantage.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0674641698
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0674641693
  3. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  4. Publication date
    March 15, 1994
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    6.14 x 0.72 x 9.21 inches
  7. Print length
    316 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This immensely interesting, wide-ranging, well-written, 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 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

“[A] fascinating book… Ellickson’s clean prose and considerate rhetorical style are refreshing.”―William Fischel, Land Economics

From the Back Cover

Ellickson shows that people govern themselves largely by means of informal rules-social norms-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.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press (March 15, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674641698
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674641693
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.72 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

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Robert C. Ellickson

Robert C. Ellickson

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4 out of 5 stars
15 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Camden
    5.0 out of 5 stars "How Neighbors Settle Disputes" says it all!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    An excellent inquiry into the role of ordinary neighborliness as superior to government and laws in resolving disputes, "Order Without Law" shows us, in an understandable American community, how unimportant government and formal laws are to most daily life and minor conflicts that arise. Written by a lawyer and professor, it sometimes has a strong legal brief flavor, but for those of us who favor liberty and oppose forcible imposition of will through "government," this book is support for the idea that government is actually superfluous to ordinary life.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Mark Andrews
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
    Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2001
    Order Without Law studies why, and under what circumstances, people accept a body of rules when there is no written law establishing those rules, and occasionally when the written law contradicts those rules. To answer this question, Professor Robert Ellickson settled into a long and detailed field study of the attitudes of cattle ranchers in Shasta County, California. His primary focus was on the informal rules governing boundary fences; who pays to build, who pays to maintain, who accepts the risk of stray cattle, and so forth. While his geographical focus was narrow, it was impressively deep, involving dozens of personal interviews and detailed reviews of public records. Ellickson explains why he believes that two current theories, law-and-economics and law-and-society, are both inadequate. He creates his own useful taxonomy of rules, rule makers, and rule enforcers. He offers hypotheses to predict future situations when people will more likely accept unwritten rules. Designed for professionals who deal daily in human behavior, such as sociologists, anthropologists, and lawyers, Order Without Law remains accessible to the general reader. One part was difficult to follow: the extended analysis of the Prisoner's Dilemma and its variations. But overall Order Without Law is a valuable addition to law and the social sciences.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • VC
    5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading it!
    Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This is a very interesting book which explores the world of social norms and its interaction with law. The title is too powerful since, in my opinion, social norms are to some extent law.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • anonymous reviewer
    3.0 out of 5 stars An Anthropology book, not a Sociology book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2007
    This is an anthropological study of the politics of the people of Shasta Country, California. Its a typical college like textbook. It's too specific in its evaluation of social norms to these people to draw any general abstract conclusions, but thats the book. If you are interested in a specific case study, then the books kinda okay (its still written like a typical college anthropology textbook - deliberately dense and boring), but you're interested in general abstract conclusions about social norms that you would find in a sociology book, I recommend you pass on this expense book.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Zecon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Society and Law book that explains order without law.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2000
    This book does not seek to explain the world in economic terms, but it does seek to explain it in sociological terms. Using the example of Shasta County cattle ranchers he has crafted an excellent book. It is scholarly, yet accessible.
    Ellickson brilliantly explains how some many of society's actions are coordinated by informal norms that do not necessarily mirror the law. The theory of how "order without law" occurs is what this effort seeks to explain. This is sometimes explained as spontaneous ordering. How ranchers in Shasta County settle their disputes without recourse to law has broad implications and allows Ellickson to construct a theoretical framework based on a society and law perspective.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Stephen M. Bainbridge
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best of genre.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 1997
    Legal scholars tend to assume that law matters; i.e., that people seek to comport their behavior with applicable rules of law. In what is probably the best sociological study of the role of law in dispute resolution, Robert Ellickson demonstrates that disputes are often resolved without recourse to law and, even more important, in ways different than they would have been resolved in court.
    Ellickson begins with a richly detailed case study: Boundary and cattle trespass disputes in Shasta County, California. After reviewing the Shasta County experience, Ellickson relates his findings to a theoretical framework grounded in economics and psychology. The book thus combines the best of both theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of law.
    Legal scholarship is increasingly concerned with the way social norms control behavior. This is the book that started that debate. It deserves to be read by anybody who is interested in law, economics, or dispute resolution.
    25 people found this helpful
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  • L. Rich
    1.0 out of 5 stars Poor Scholoarship and Dicey redefinitions
    Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2014
    Mr. Ellickson's goal - according to his preface - is: "This book seeks to demonstrate that people frequently resolve their
    disputes in cooperative fashion without paying any attention to the laws that apply to those disputes."

    Anyone with a brain, sees that the concept from this book is flawed from this very opening sentence.

    All he proves is that - when it is to their mutual advantage - some people will, sometimes, develop parallel government structures.

    I suppose he should receive a small pat on the back for proving something that no one (to my knowledge) ever disputed. I give him a smiley face sticker, and 1 star.

    I look forward to his next book: "Government is Unnecessary...because some people break the law anyway."
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Henry H. Perritt
    5.0 out of 5 stars A classic analysis of how most human behavior is regulated by culture rather than law
    Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2021
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    More lawyers should read this and understand that extra-legal forces are more pervasive and powerful than formal law, in many situations.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Lemieux
    4.0 out of 5 stars Norms as important as legal rules!
    Reviewed in Canada on March 7, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Legal work mostly! Old stuff but still very
    acurate! Individuals are by law but also by
    informal files! Well written and entertaining!
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