How much does legislation actually change people? (hiring illegals, illegals, states)

[MongooseHugger]

I get that, in the case of tyranny, people might comply with tyrannical edicts out of fear and, in the case of good laws, those who might otherwise do something if it were legal wouldn't do it as they didn't think it worth the hassle.


But, on the other hand, both those who would be willing to risk harm to defy a tyrannical edict or those that are too greedy, evil, or whatever to follow a good law won't be much affected by the laws.


I do, sadly, believe that bad laws have a greater effect on a society than good laws do to reform it. I know in the Bible that the evil kings Manasseh and Ahaz really messed up the land with their evil rules, yet the efforts of Josiah, Hezekiah, and even Manessah (after he reformed) only seemed to slow down the decline of Judah, not turn it around.


So, while it can be argued that bad laws can actually strengthen the spread of evil, good laws don't necessarily stop it if the people aren't willing.


A more recent example in the US was Prohibition. While it's true that it did change the behavior of some people, loads of people defied it and it eventually got repealed. Though it did have some lasting effects (some states stayed dry long after the 18th Amendment was repealed), as far as I know, all 50 states now allow alcohol.


So how do regulations from local laws to the US Constitution actually play out if there is enough evil, apathy, and corruption floating around?


I mean, laws to protect labor from employers, laws designed to stop people from coming here illegally and also to keep employers from hiring illegals, the Constitution that was supposed to keep DC reined in, and many other things all seem to be being bypassed and ignored by evil forces.


(BTW, this debate would also concern gun control laws too.)