"But law comes from power and strength!  Whoever has the ability to apply their version of law in a given area, and punish people for breaking it, is the maker of law!  That's what law means!  Whoever has the largest army makes the rules!"

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No offense or anything, but that's how savages think.  If law and power are the same thing, then there's no point in calling it "law" - it's just the will or desire of The Most Powerful Person.  Law, authority, and morality are no longer factors in this equation - it's just a matter of weapons - whoever has the biggest gun.  That's lawlessness - not order.

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If this was really how law worked, then the term "successful criminal" would be an oxymoron, because every criminal who succeeded (i.e. escaped or defeated law enforcement) would no longer be a criminal, because the condition of being unpunished would retroactively make the crime lawful.  Everyone who ever got away with committing a crime would not be a criminal, simply because they got away with it.  

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In other words:  "If they haven't been punished, they haven't done anything wrong.  No action is a crime until someone with a bigger gun punishes you for it." 

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That's the nonsense you believe, if you believe that law originates from its own enforcement. That's what you think, if you think that power and authority are the same thing.  

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Authority and power are clearly two different things.  There are many people in power who do not have moral authority.  And there are many people with moral authority who don't have power to go with it.

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"Well it may or may not be right, but that's the way it is.  Try explaining your philosophy to a police officer, or a judge.  See how long you last."

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The fact that a person has the ability to do something, doesn't mean that they have the right to do it.

 

The fact that a cop or judge might have power, doesn't mean that they have the moral authority to use that power.  They only have moral authority to use power if they're using it in service to what is really and truly morally correct. 

Their power does not give them the right to determine what is and isn't morally correct.  Morality stands independently of whatever guns or other weapons someone might happen to have. 

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The progress of humanity has been a continual series of acknowledgments that "Might does NOT make Right."  If you believe that Might DOES make Right, then you're pulling humanity backwards.  Please, grow up.  Join civilization.

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"Ok, I see what you're saying.  But you're talking about morality, not law.  Morality and law are two different things.  Morality isn't dependent on power, but law is."

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This argument has been addressed here.

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