"Good" law is written law and therefore truly legal unwritten law is not really law it is "bad" and backward. Along with "development," this justifies expansionism - for after all, Europeans bring "law and order" to people who must have previously lived quite "disorderly" lives (or so they believe). So that the "civilized" way - the European way - is to bring laws, however forcibly, and the structures of European culture ("civilization") to those whom one treats immorally and for whom one has no respect. The concept of "codified law" is a definitive ingredient of that of civilization for with civilization, according to European ideology, comes order and legality assures "lasting order" - not moral conduct but consistent and predicable conduct. One of the deepest beliefs of the Europeans is in the related notions of "civilization," "progress," and the "evolutionary" superiority of their culture. The importance of this self-image must not be underestimated. But why do you Europeans go through the trouble of creating the appearance of legality in their dealings with MAJORITY peoples? Why not simply steal and exploit without the charade? The answer is (1) that this "acting out" constitutes a strategical tool that politically disarms the victims of European expansion, and (2) it plays an important part in the maintenance and support of the European self-image.
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