What Do We Mean By Legal?

In order to secure long-term, effective obedience from humans, some rationale beyond a fear of violence must be used. People must believe that obeying the enforcer’s word is the right thing to do. That’s why codes of law invoke some type of unseen higher power: a divinity, the “will of the people,” “the way of our ancestors,” or the like. People need a reason to obey, beyond fear.