I often wonder, If the existence of law makes any difference. Yes, it works in case of bringing about justice but if we take into account a very crude analogy, in a given society irrespective of the existence of law a certain number of crimes happen and they would happen anyway. Once some one is wronged, the revenge also happens, without law it would be savage and the function of individual ability but would the equation of wrongs done differ. But even now don't the powerful get away with anything and the powerless often face the brunt of "justice". I think this stupid thought must probably have originated out the despair on seeing the evidence of injustice.
Probably loosing hope is a bad thing. While there are injustices being done every minute, justice also dawns from time to time. Yes we live in a society where the financial might rules the roost, but sometimes human will also does win, doesn't it?
But isn't it all adding up to the same argument, we would all be as better off or worse off with law and morality as we are without. Probably yes, probably no.
When one begins categorizing people, probably our society consists of two kinds of people, one who would do what they would do irrespective of what, one whose actions depend. The former case are the people who would wrong irrespective of whether there is law or no law and who wouldn't wrong whether there is law or no law. Their action whether for the good or bad wouldn't definitely depend on existence of a moral code. Then come the latter ones who are the fence sitters, whose actions depend on a lot of external factors. These are the people who would refrain from committing a crime for the fear of god, for the fear of law, for the fear of social stigma, for the fear of retribution. Probably it wouldn't take too much for them to drift to the other side once it is declared that there is no law, there is no morality and there is no god. Trusting the human nature, the second lot must be in much large numbers as compared to the first. And hence we are much better off with the existence of the fear of retribution. Our nature probably is not conducive to complete freedom.
Another thought springs up from this, probably that is why the world has always been scared of atheists. Because these are the first kind of people who are solely responsible for themselves, who know which side of the fence to be on.