What laws protect us from

Laws protect more than just the rich from the "rabble".  They protect the poor from the rich, the corporations, bad companies, companies who adulterate food and drugs and with the US bill of rights, the government itself.  The police and the government cannot impinge on the rights of the poor.  For example,  the GNU Public License is a legal software document protecting open source software from later copyright from software giants.  Jack always finds a way to kill a giant.