ABSTRACT
The previous chapter calls for a theory of legal change. Therefore, this chapter begins with a review of a theory regarding basic normative patterns which are noticeable in contemporary law. This normative pattern occurs in many areas of law. However, from a socio-legal perspective, it appears more like a movement between bipolar positions than a pattern. It is, with an ecological parallel, like a pendulum movement between a relatively undifferentiated stage to an increasingly differentiated stage that eventually outlives itself and leads to the death of the social system, while a new social system takes root in the fertile soil of the old.
These ideas relate to the theory of cyclical societal development put forward in the first chapter. Each new S-curve represents a new beginning based in a new core technology. The new society taking shape begins at an undifferentiated stage where humanity, supported by new technology, seeks new ways to satisfy old needs and demands. This societal development is confirmed by the empirical examples of the movement of law mentioned in the introduction. Based on the combination of a cyclical societal development and a motion between bipolar values, a theory of legal development is presented.
