Legislative system of every country is targeted at the regulation of relationships between people and their environment. Laws are always agreed with the norms of morality to some extent and encourage people to keep up with the social and cultural standards established in their community. However, not all people are naturally altruistic, and mild legislation frequently provides a number of loopholes for those who search for easy pickings.
Social norms are usually constructed upon the principles of morality. But are these concepts really interchangeable? Let us say, morality is a more integral concept which includes the perception of a wider range of phenomena than just social interaction. And norms which can be enforced by law make up rather a small part of human activity. We may think that all aspects of our life are regulated by legislation but it is not true. In many spheres of human life, we are regulated by our internal laws of morality which have never been prescribed by any legislation of the world.
Legislation can enforce performing one’s social duties but it can hardly change the way of thinking. Besides the law, morality is affected by religion. However, strictly religious people are not necessarily highly moral. And certainly, morality depends on parental education which is the principles people got used to following since the early years. It is still disputable which place in this hierarchy shall be given to the laws. Obviously, strict legislation discourages people from committing a crime if the punishment is too hard. On the other hand, totalitarian regimes which are famous for their grip of still may encourage the development of the false moral principles in obedient citizens. True morality, unlike social obedience, cannot be forced; strict laws are not enough to make people moral.