Society is becoming over-regulated

Society These Days

Does Society Really Need Regulation?

It is impossible to make generalizations
about whether society is or is not becoming over-regulated, as all societies
require some forms of regulation in order to function, but not all regulations
are of equal value. Instead, rather than trying to assess whether society as a
whole is “over-regulated”, which is too sweeping an assertion to be either
proven or disproven, we should unpack the problem of which sorts of regulations
are excessive or superfluous and which are needed, and how the issue of the degree
to which regulations are enforced is just as important as their existence on
the books.

Regulations: from Absurd to
Necessary

The first category of regulations we
might consider are obsolete statutes that still remain part of the legal code
despite having been rendered obsolete by either changing customs or new
technology. In Missouri, for example, it is illegal to drive with an uncaged
bear in one’s car. Other laws date back to the time when horses and carriages
were common modes of transportation. More relevant to today’s students are what
are sometimes called “blue laws” that regulate what is considered moral
behavior, including sexual acts, and alcohol and drug use. Many of these, such
as those concerning what sexual acts are permitted between consenting adults,
are impossible to enforce and anyway seem to many people an intolerable
limitation on what should be purely personal decisions. Others, such as the
laws against pedophilia, seem to be morally justifiable.

Another category of laws that in some
people’s view constitute forms of over-regulation are those concerning the
private use of alcohol, marijuana, and other addictive or mind-altering
substances. While most people would agree that some regulation is needed,
especially regulations that prohibit young children from accessing such
substances, everything from the age at which people should be allowed to make
their own decisions to which substances should be regulated in what manner are
matters of controversy. My own position on this is that these substances are
both over- and under-regulated. On the one hand, making substances illegal or
limiting the days on which one can buy alcohol in stores is ineffective in
preventing substance abuse. On the other hand, some forms of regulation, such
as laws against drunk driving. have saved many lives and strengthening such
regulations along with making public transit affordable and widely available
might save even more lives. Legalizing recreational drugs but closely
regulating them for quality and safety might also save lives; in this case, I
would argue that many drugs are both over-regulated, in so far as personal use
is criminalized, and under-regulated in the sense that quality and safety are
not adequately monitored.

The “Nanny State”

While many people have issues with what
the British term the “nanny state” that regulates many aspects of personal
choice or behavior, people’s opinions vary on what specific regulations are
justified. The attempt of New York City to prohibit the sale of soft drinks in
servings of over 16 ounces was eventually overturned but still serves as an
example of regulatory overreach. Although drinking a 32-ounce soda is not good
for one’s health, if someone wants that quantity of soda, that is a matter of
personal choice. Moreover, as people could have bought two 16-ounce containers
under the law, it would not have been a particularly effective way to encourage
healthy eating habits. On the other hand, regulations that insist that accurate
nutritional labels be made clearly visible to customers seem a legitimate form
of regulation, as such labels allow us to make informed choices about our own
health.

What these examples show is that
regulations in our society can be either beneficial or harmful. Some
regulations are excessive or absurd, while others are necessary. In some areas,
especially ones relating to health and safety, more comprehensive regulations
and stricter enforcement would be desirable. Food should be safe to eat and
water safe to drink. In other areas, though, regulations can be intrusive or
even harmful. Thus our society can neither be said to be over-regulated or
under-regulated, but rather we can conclude that we should look at each
individual regulation on its own merits.

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