"Law describes the way things would work if men were angels"

In this quote, Christopher Dawson is suggesting that laws are produced to manage and guide human habits. However, he acknowledges that humans are not ideal beings and can making errors and acting in self-centered methods. Therefore, laws function as a method to manage and avoid negative actions that might damage society. Dawson is implying that if people were ideal and acted like angels, there would be no requirement for laws as everybody would naturally do what is right. However, since humans are flawed, laws are required to keep order and make sure that society functions in a simply and fair way.