Honor vs Law
One can contrast cultures of honour with cultures of law. In a culture of law there is a body of laws which must be obeyed by all, with punishments for transgressors. This requires a society with the structures required to enact and enforce laws. A culture of law incorporates an unwritten social contract: members of society agree to give up most of their rights to defend themselves and retaliate for injuries, on the understanding that transgressors will be apprehended and punished by society. From the viewpoint of anthropology, cultures of honour typically appear among nomadic peoples and herdsmen who carry their most valuable property with them and risk having it stolen, without having recourse to law enforcement or government. In this situation, inspiring fear forms a better strategy than promoting friendship; and cultivating a reputation for swift and disproportionate revenge increases the safety of one's person and property. Thinkers ranging from Montesquieu to Steven Pinker have remarked upon the mindset needed for a culture of honour.
Cultures of honour therefore appear among the Bedouin, Scottish and English herdsmen of the Border country, and many similar peoples, who have little allegiance to a national government; among cowboys, frontiersmen, and ranchers of the American West, where official law-enforcement often remained out of reach, as is famously celebrated in Westerns; among the plantation culture of the American South, and among aristocrats, who enjoy hereditary privileges that put them beyond the reach of codes of law. Cultures of honour also flourish in criminal underworlds and gangs, whose members carry large amounts of cash and contraband and cannot complain to the law if it is stolen.
Cultures of honour will often arise when three conditions[1] exist: 1) a lack of resources; 2) where the benefit of theft and crime outweighs the risks; and 3) a lack of sufficient law enforcement (such as in geographically remote regions). Historically cultures of honor exist in places where the economy is dominated by herding animals. In this situation the geography is usually remote since the soil can not support extensive sustained farming and thus large populations; the benefit of stealing animals from other herds is high since it is main form of wealth; and there is no central law enforcement or rule of law. However cultures of honor can also appear in places like modern inner city slums. The three conditions exist here as well: lack of resources (poverty); crime and theft have a high rewards compared to the alternatives (few); and law enforcement is generally lax or corrupt.[1]
Once a culture of honour exists, it is difficult for its members to make the transition to a culture of law; this requires that people become willing to back down and refuse to immediately retaliate, and from the viewpoint of the culture of honour, this tends to appear to be an unwise act reflecting weakness.
Found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honour
I found this article to be fascinating. I have struggled with my personal code of honor in the modern world for many years. I know it may carry me into stormy legal waters if I find myself in the wrong situation, where what is "right" is not what is "legal." This was a very good discourse that helps define my personal struggle and deal with the dichotomy between a modern life and medieval (type) code.
We all know of "handshake" deals and how that has been replaced by the written contract. "If it's not in writing, it doesn't count." I have felt that I am always the odd man out, living by a "my word is my bond" type of philosophy. Sometimes I feel like a chump, watching others lie and cheat but not break enough "law" to actually get in trouble. And why am I treated like I am a bad guy for standing up to behavior like this? This helped me frame my personal code better, and why it sometimes feels broken in modern society.
I also was fascinated by the Culture of Honor concept applied to inner city and criminal cultures. I don't agree with those cultural philosophy's, but it helped me understand why I find movies and stories with those elements so fascinating. It is a dark reflection of beliefs that I hold dear.
Enjoy!