Quasi-Global Social Norms

Rex D. Glensy, 1780

Abstract

This Article describes the emergence and operation of a sub-category of social norm, termed “quasi-global social norm.” It argues that these norms arise slowly through an evolutionary process governed by natural instinct, and that such norms develop by reaching an ever increasing number of adherents who apply these norms to an ever increasing number of situations. It then describes how quasi-global social norms, in light of their hold on society, permeate the legal system and function as a normative force in determining the outcome of many legal decisions, and concludes by drawing upon the quasi-global social norms of liberty and fairness to illustrate this process.