"The law" vs. "the people"

Does the law act for or against "the people"? Who are "the people"? This collection of essays by philosophers, historians, legal scholars, and others examines these questions in historical perspective; in law and literature; in contemporary, advanced, and developing societies; and with respect to gender and economics. What "the law" does and ought to represent is viewed semiotically as a problem admitting of no definitive answer.