ABSTRACT
It has been my objective in this book to decipher the role of legal doc trine in American society, and to this end I have brought together what I believe to be the best quantitative research and statistical data available on the issue. The evidence is sufficient, I think, to warrant at least a few conclusions with reasonable assurance of their accuracy, and I hope those I have reached will advance our understanding of legal thought as a societal phenomenon. I realize, however, that a number of my argu ments are likely to encounter resistance because they challenge assump tions that are deeply entrenched in academic and political circles. This is especially the case with the contention that law-or, more exactly, regulation-does not appreciably influence social processes and correct social problems; the contention is counter to a belief that has charac terized Americans for at least a quarter-century and will probably be regarded with considerable skepticism.1 Doubt should not be surpris ing, though, because established beliefs of any sort are never displaced easily. Therefore, I can only hope that legal scholars and social scientists will recognize the thesis I have outlined is supported by a substantial body of credible evidence; that they will find the thesis sufficiently promising to investigate it further; and that they will gradually accept the thesis as additional corroborating evidence appears.
