Some people believe laws change human behaviour. Do you agree with it?

Irrefutably, formation and implementation of laws are imperative for providing a congenial environment to the society. Considering this, there are certain analysts who hold the opinion that laws change the behaviour of the humans. However, I staunchly disagree with the aforementioned statement due to a notable reason.

There is a practical factor which affirms that enforcing laws does not play a great deal of role in changing human traits. Rising recidivism rate could be substantial factor. It is generally seen that even after completing the prison term for a crime or undergoing rehabilitation for certain addiction, people go back to the similar old practices. Many hard core criminals and quite a few celebrities could be taken as fortifying examples to substantiate my viewpoint.

Despite the reason discussed above, there are certain proponents who consider that adhering to laws in the society transforms the people. Fear of punishment may be single most significant factor behind opponents’ viewpoint. It may be defined as when one has to face the repercussions in the guise of penalty or imprisonment, people avoid breaking the laws. No doubt, change due to fear could be true to some extent; however, it should not be forgotten that many people have little or no regard for their social and moral responsibilities. If this is the case, would it be wise enough to generalize and say that law changes the behaviour of all the people? My answer would be no.

In the end, indeed, changing behavior by following law transforms people to some extent, but I still believe that it is hard to change most people completely by making them adhere to laws.