Mises tells us that "law cannot have arisen legally. Law cannot begot itself from itself"--Socialism. My question is how it arose? Primates engage in what can only be considered social customs of reciprocity, would we consider this the starting point of law? Any resources for additional reading?
Read until you have something to write...Write until you have nothing to write...when you have nothing to write, read...read until you have something to write...Jeremiah
I recommend researching social norms and conventions first (e.g., David Lewis's book Convention; Eric Posner's book Law and Socal Norms; Robert Axelrod's The Evolution of Cooperation).
I consider cooperation (i.e., reciprical altruism) evolutionarilyy adaptive and our psyches innately inclined toward it (e.g., ostracizing free riders, etc.), and these genetic tendencies arose due to all the standard game-theoretic reasons. From there, gene-culture coevolution generates customs and conventions, including formalized laws (common law being the most "spontaneous").
"I'm not a fan of Murray Rothbard." -- David D. Friedman