On the Expressive Function of Law
Abstract
If I had known that not a single lunch counter would open as a result of my action I could not have done differently than I did. If I had known violence would result, I could not have done differently than I did. I am thankful for the sit-ins iffor no other reason than that they provided me with an opportunity for making a slogan into a reality, by turning a decision into an action. It seems to me that this is what life is all about.
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Law both reflects and reshapes society, acting as a moral and cultural signifier to shape and change social norms.
“Law both reflects and reshapes society, acting as a moral and cultural signifier to shape and change social norms (see Sunstein 1996, 1999).”
From Collapsing the Boundaries Between De Jure and De Facto Slavery: The Foundations of Slavery Beyond the Transatlantic Frame (2020) · cites this paper as Sunstein 1996
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“However, laws may also have an “ expressive function ” wherein they affect societal norms and shape citizens ’ behavior by altering perceptions of what others approve or disapprove (e.g., Sunstein, 1996).”
The expressive function of public policy: renewable energy mandates signal social norms
Syropoulos, S., Sparkman, G., & Constantino, S. M. (2024) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2023.0038 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“Institutions can both create norms and be effective communicators of norms — they thus have an ‘ expressive ’ function [43].”
Background
- Authors
- Sunstein, C. R.
- Corresponding author
- Sunstein, Cass R.
- ORCID
- Sunstein, Cass R.
- Venue
- University of Pennsylvania Law Review
- Publisher
- JSTOR
- Published
- 1996-05
- Volume
- 144
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 2021
- ISSN
- 0041-9907 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3123783531
- Cited by
- 795
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 57 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 102 · 2018: 67 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 8.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- University of Pennsylvania Law Review (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Law, Rights, and Freedoms
- Social Sciences › Law › Law in Society and Culture
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
- Keywords
- expressive function, civil disobedience, sit-ins, freedom of expression, protest, law and morality, Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights movement
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