Essay Question Read Instructions San Diego State

The only two books you need to use for this essay are:

1. Feinman, Jay M., (2006) Law 101: Everything you Need to Know about the American Legal System. Oxford University Press, 5th ed.

2. Milovanovic, Dragan, (2003) An Introduction to the Sociology of Law. Criminal Justice Press, 3rd ed.

NO OUTSIDE SOURCES YOU MUST ONLY USE THESE BOOKS TO ANSWERS THE ESSAY QUESTION

READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY ANF FOLLOW THEM WORDS BY WORD AND CITE CITE CITE

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In Law 101, Jay Feinman writes, “For more than a century, freedom of contract has been both the central organizing principle of contract law and a rallying cry for an individualist philosophy of the social organization.” See Law 101 (5th ed.), p. 183.

For a single individual in 2021, the federal government’s poverty guidelines which are used to determine eligibility for certain federal programs equals $12,880. See Poverty Guidelines | ASPE (hhs.gov) (Links to an external site.)

The federal minimum wage equals $7.25 per hour. See 29 U.S.C. § 206; Minimum Wage | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) (Links to an external site.). (Some states enact higher minimum wage laws). There are fifty-two weeks in a year. Consequently, if an individual residing in a state without a higher state minimum wage is offered and accepts employment at the federal minimum wage rate and thereafter works 8 hours per day (i.e., 40 hours per week) for all fifty-two weeks of the year, she/ he will earn $15,080, or $2,200 more than the federal government’s recognized poverty guidelines.

In Chapter 2 of Dragan Milovanovic’s book An Introduction to the Sociology of Law (3rd ed.), Milovanovic examines the writings of Max Weber. Weber considers subjects including capitalism and the law, domination and law, and freedom and coercion in the law. Capitalism is a feature of American society, and in our class we have discussed potential and/or actual intersections between capitalism and the law. See e.g., James Madison’s expressed concern over the perils of unchecked democratic rule.

Assignment prompt: Using the federal minimum wage law and poverty guidelines, apply Weber’s observations, concepts, ideas, etc., to defend or criticize the proposition that contractual freedom exists in America’s workplace. You are welcome, if you choose, to draw from other chapters of Feinman’s book that we have covered and/or from Chapter 1 of Milovanovic’s book. (Please abide by the length and formatting guidelines set out in the syllabus, i.e., 4-5 pages (overages are fine, though please observe the minimum requirement), double spaced, 12 pt. font. Also, please limit your references to course materials, and avoid the first person “I” and statements like, “I believe,” and “I think.” When referencing textbook materials, include the page number.