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why are the prisons full?
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In part because we have so many laws. You see, the more restrictive a law is, the more people will refuse to obey it and thus become criminals. In the most basic sense, there are only two reasons that people obey a given law: either they respect and agree with the rationale behind the law or they fear the punishment for disobedience. For example, most people do not commit murder or theft not because these behaviors are illegal, but because they are considered morally wrong by the majority of people. However, most people pay their taxes not because they really want to give the government their money, but because they fear the repercussions of refusing to do so.
When a law is passed prohibiting something that someone does not find morally wrong and the person believes that they can avoid punishment or that the punishment is not severe enough to be worth obeying the law, the person is then more likely to disobey the law and thus become a criminal. This is why laws such as speed limits, seatbelt requirements, and drug laws are broken fairly commonly.