The push for hyper-detailed regulations stemmed from a well-intentioned desire to prevent past wrongs like segregation and pollution from ever recurring. The chosen solution was to eliminate individual authority, which was seen as the source of the abuse, leading to today's rigid system.
The counterintuitive reality of governance is that freedom requires authority. When no one can make a judgment, uphold standards, or adapt, institutions become rigid, trust erodes, and the individual's freedom to act or innovate is lost. Authority provides the structure for freedom to operate.
A vast ecosystem of law firms, lobbyists, and compliance officers profits from navigating and creating regulatory complexity. This powerful economic interest group has no incentive to simplify the system, ensuring its perpetuation regardless of its harm to the public good.
The entire regulatory framework is built on the flawed premise that qualities like good judgment, competence, or even weirdness can be objectively measured and proven in a hearing. This is contrary to reality, making the system fundamentally incompatible with how human organizations actually function.
Law is supposed to be a framework that forbids bad actions (proscription) while safeguarding an open field of freedom. Over the last 60 years, it has become a tool for dictating exactly how to do everything (prescription), turning that open field into a legal minefield.
Australia replaced its thousand-page nursing home rulebooks with 31 general principles like "respect the dignity of the residents." A year later, the homes were twice as good because staff were empowered to use their judgment and innovate, internalizing principles rather than just checking boxes.
Unions have secured "maintenance of effort" laws that prevent budgets from being reduced, even with declining demand. This creates absurdities like a Chicago school with capacity for 1,000 having only 27 students, which no one has the authority to close. The system legally requires burning money.
The U.S. has cultivated a system that incentivizes and rewards litigation, compliance, and navigating complexity. In contrast, China has focused on an "engineer society" that prioritizes building, innovation, and execution. This fundamental difference in national focus has profound consequences for progress.
A single large lawsuit verdict over a sledding accident led to the closure of public sledding hills across the country. This illustrates how the legal system, without any democratic oversight, allows individual lawsuits to eliminate shared freedoms and reasonable risk-taking for the entire society.