Henry Maine

Henry Maine was a 19th-century British legal scholar and historian, best known for his work on the evolution of legal systems. He argued that societies progress from collective, communal norms toward individualism and formal laws. His famous phrase, “The movement of progressive societies has been a movement from Status to Contract,” suggests that modern societies favor agreements between individuals over traditional ties or roles based on birth or status. Maine's ideas influenced legal theory and anthropology, shedding light on how laws reflect social changes and the transition from kinship-based societies to more complex, individualized social structures.