Question

Give your personal response.

Show how folkways, mores and laws may clash with each other

Answer 1

Folkways is one of the essential element of culture. Folkways govern our daily routine and ordinary contact with other people. Whereas mores are considered as vital to the welfare of the group. Folkways and mores are the customary way of life and standards of right and wrong. Example: wearing clothes are mores and wearing clothes of different styles are folkways.

Laws are deliberately formulated rules of behaviour that are enforced by special authority. e.g., there are laws that can punish people for marrying more than one person. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Mores, folkways, and laws are taught through the process of socialisation by various sources like family, friends, peer groups, schools, etc. However, these three clashes with each other in various ways. In today's complex, competitive society, one finds it difficult to cope up with these three elements of society. For example, there is a man who belongs to a poor family and has the responsibility of marriage of his sister. Being born in a poor family, he doesn't have enough money for his sister's marriage. As per the laws, asking for dowry is illegal, but due to his financial condition, he has to ask for dowry from his in-laws to get his sister married. In such a situation folkways, mores and law clash with each other.