--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The function of the law is not to provide…" description: "\"The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who hold power, in power.\" — Gerry S..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/gerry-spence-9080_freedom_the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provid_6252.jpg" --- # The function of the law is not to provide justice or to… ![“The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who hold power, in power.” quote by Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/gerry-spence-9080_freedom_the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provid_6252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/gerry-spence-9080_freedom_the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provid_6252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/gerry-spence-9080_freedom_the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provid_6252.jpg) > “The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who hold power, in power.” [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Law serves as a tool for power structures, prioritizing stability of authority over equitable outcomes. **In simple terms:** Law maintains existing hierarchies. Key Takeaway Power sustains itself through legal frameworks. Themes Power dynamics Legal realism Social control Inequality Political legitimacy Mood Skeptical Critical Cautious Type Political Philosophical When to use this quote - Analyzing authoritarian regimes - Critiquing corporate lobbying - Studying judicial independence - Assessing constitutional reforms Key Concepts Authority Institutional inertia Legal coercion Elite interests Practical Applications - Policy analysis - Legal education Questions to Reflect On - How does this view reshape your trust in legal institutions? - What mechanisms could counterbalance power within law? A Different Perspective Some argue law can also protect minorities and limit tyranny, not merely uphold power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws/) ## Related quotes > [“The basic function of law is to restrain (Rom. 13:1-4) not to regenerate, and when the function of the law is changed from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/the-basic-function-of-law-is-to-restrain-rom-13-1-4-not-to-regenerate/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [The function of law and theology are the same: to keep the poor from taking back by violence what the rich have stolen by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-function-of-law-and-theology-are-the-same-to-keep-the-poor-from/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [A function to each organ, and each organ to its own function, is the law of all organization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/a-function-to-each-organ-and-each-organ-to-its-own-function-is-the/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [It is a part of the function of "law" to give recognition to ideas representing the exact opposite of established conduct. Most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurman-arnold/it-is-a-part-of-the-function-of-law-to-give-recognition-to-ideas/) [Thurman Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurman-arnold/) > [Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/posterity-you-will-never-know-how-much-it-has-cost-my-generation-to/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [We are so concerned to flatter the majority that we lose sight of how very often it is necessary, in order to preserve freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/we-are-so-concerned-to-flatter-the-majority-that-we-lose-sight-of-how/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [We will act in any necessary way and reach anywhere in order to preserve our freedom of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoav-gallant/we-will-act-in-any-necessary-way-and-reach-anywhere-in-order-to/) [Yoav Gallant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoav-gallant/) > [Markets are born free, yet no sooner are they born than some would-be emperor is forging chains. Paradoxically, it sometimes happens that the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/markets-are-born-free-yet-no-sooner-are-they-born-than-some-would-be-2/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [We are expected to believe that anyone who objects to the Department of Homeland Security or the USA Patriot Act is a terrorist, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/we-are-expected-to-believe-that-anyone-who-objects-to-the-department/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I always like to preserve my freedom. I've never really been attached to any place; that's probably why I kept moving. I like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/i-always-like-to-preserve-my-freedom-i-ve-never-really-been-attached/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [Freedom is not just something with which we are born; it is something we achieve. America did not receive a perpetual endowment of freedom;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/freedom-is-not-just-something-with-which-we-are-born-it-is-something/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Those who are in the power of evil habits must conquer them as they can; and conquered they must be, or neither wisdom nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/those-who-are-in-the-power-of-evil-habits-must-conquer-them-as-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/posterity-you-will-never-know-how-much-it-cost-the-present-generation/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire, or preserve his freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/a-man-who-believes-in-freedom-will-do-anything-under-the-sun-to/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The peace we seek in the world is not the flimsy peace which is merely an interlude between wars, but a peace which can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/the-peace-we-seek-in-the-world-is-not-the-flimsy-peace-which-is/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) ## More by Gerry Spence > [Each of us has been endowed with the perfect power to be free. Slavery is a state of mind that fails to acknowledge the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/each-of-us-has-been-endowed-with-the-perfect-power-to-be-free-slavery/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [When you are faced with prejudice, logic and justice are impotent. Still, we may have an obligation to argue directly into the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/when-you-are-faced-with-prejudice-logic-and-justice-are-impotent/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Under any religion, the preestablished impersonal code transcends the right of the individual to explore, experience, and marvel at the mysteries of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/under-any-religion-the-preestablished-impersonal-code-transcends-the/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [The new and most powerful union of all will be a union of one one man, one woman, one worker with special skills, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-new-and-most-powerful-union-of-all-will-be-a-union-of-one-one-man/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Once slavery in America was not seen as radical. It became, instead, a revolutionary idea that slaves should be freed. When we have lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/once-slavery-in-america-was-not-seen-as-radical-it-became-instead-a/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Love is how we feel toward those who show us that which is lovable about ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/love-is-how-we-feel-toward-those-who-show-us-that-which-is-lovable/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [ Government \[is\] operated by deeply embedded, hopelessly entangled bureaus where nothing is accomplished because the function of the bureau is to intercept every living… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/government-is-operated-by-deeply-embedded-hopelessly-entangled/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [What the insurance companies have done is to reverse the business so that the public at large insures the insurance companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/what-the-insurance-companies-have-done-is-to-reverse-the-business-so/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [A new fascism promises security from the terror of crime. All that is required is that we take away the criminals' rights - which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/a-new-fascism-promises-security-from-the-terror-of-crime-all-that-is/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Nearly every day on the television set the hero cop breaks into the bad guy's house and beats a confession out of him and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/nearly-every-day-on-the-television-set-the-hero-cop-breaks-into-the/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Our prejudices - we all have them - are part of our personality structure. The problem is that our prejudices may lie lurking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/our-prejudices-we-all-have-them-are-part-of-our-personality-structure/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Prejudice locks the mind. Nothing can enter. Nothing true can escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/prejudice-locks-the-mind-nothing-can-enter-nothing-true-can-escape/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Our willingness to openly reveal our feelings in our argument nearly always builds our credibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/our-willingness-to-openly-reveal-our-feelings-in-our-argument-nearly/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [. . . in America, we have achieved the Orwellian prediction - enslaved, the people have been programmed to love their bondage and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/in-america-we-have-achieved-the-orwellian-prediction-enslaved-the/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Today the courts are choked with lawsuits brought by people against the New King. When they sue each other as a result of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/today-the-courts-are-choked-with-lawsuits-brought-by-people-against/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) [Explore all 75 Gerry Spence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) [Browse all 30,110 Freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. 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