The Politics and Ideology of Law

Abstract

Today, the law is very much a part of the professional world of the social worker. Gone are the days when it was the exclusive preserve of the rich, used predominantly to protect their property interests, though this is not to suggest that the law has undergone a complete transformation. Many legal rules continue to benefit primarily those with wealth and power and, as we shall see in Chapter 3, lawyers remain in large part the paid custodians of their interests. But the social and political changes of the last thirty years have brought about a steady growth in the number of legal rules and procedures affecting the lives of working-class people and the poor, as new rights, benefits, and possibilities for official intervention of various kinds have been created.