Sorry to reply to myself, but... It occurs to me that the real response is, "what is the law?". Is the law simply what the government (viz, the courts and the

Sorry to reply to myself, but... It occurs to me that the real response is, "what is the law?". Is the law simply what the government (viz, the courts and the police) say it is? Or is the law something deeper, deriving from societal norms, the social contract, and a shared understanding of moral codes?