"Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).
" ~~Ayn Rand
|
It used to be that if one wanted to
drive a car one simply got in the car
and gave it a try. If one wanted to
hunt or fish one got the appropriate
equipment and tested one's luck. If
one wanted to have a dog one asked
a neighbor for one of their pups. Of
course that was back when cars could
only go a few miles an hour and the
roads were tracks with only a very
few of them paved. And the woods and
streams were full of game and unpolluted.
Those
were the "good old days" and
I am very glad that I did not live
then.
But today we have laws to protect
the public (and to generate a little
income for the county or state).
Having someone driving at 70 miles
an hour on the roads when they don't
know what they are doing is very
dangerous for all the other drivers.
The supply of fish and some other
game is precarious with many species
in danger of following the passenger
pigeon into extinction. And, of course,
the number of dogs in an urban neighborhood
must be curtailed and we must be
sure that they don't contract dangerous
diseases like rabies. We can't have
stray dogs roaming the streets spreading
danger and attacking horses, people,
and other dogs.
But how would a non-POM society
protect its drivers, fish and game,
or dogs? Well, let's begin with
the dogs. Dogs which are not owned
are dangerous and therefore those
who do something about them would
be paid for doing so. If there are
people who are willing to assume
responsibility for them, they may
do so by registering the dog as being
their property. Naturally, I would
expect each owned dog to be identified
in some fashion. The collar and license
tag is old technology so I would
expect something like paw prints,
retinal images, smell, or the sound
of the bark would be used. Perhaps
even some sort of chip embedded in
the skin of the animal would be employed.
One can relocate or execute unowned
dogs and be paid for that. One will
not
have
to pay for a license nor ask the
permission of anyone else to adopt
a stray. However if one begins caring
for a stray one might find it executed
if one does not register the dog.
If one wants a luxury dog such as
some rare breed or show dog, one
might have to pay for that, of course,
but no license. Working dogs, like
seeing eye dogs or guard dogs are
capital goods or medical equipment
(like glasses).
Hunting and fishing requires the
permission of the owner of the game
or fish. I would assume that wild
deer and fish and such would be considered
the property of the owner of the
land or stream. As such, to kill
or capture that game without permission
could get one into serious trouble.
(Just what that trouble would be
is beyond the scope of this essay.)
Since there are no public lands in
a non-POM society, all the land is
owned by individuals. Therefore,
the state or federal government has
no say in whether the game is hunted
or the fish are caught. But the owner
does have complete responsibility.
Now this is not minor matter when
the game or fish might be rare species.
Such species are valuable and to
allow their destruction is to reduce
the pay one might receive for their
preservation. So land owners whose
land is the habitat of species in
need of protection will have a considerable
financial incentive for preserving
those species. No one would be able
to use money to bribe them to allow
the killing of or the endangerment
of such species. Other bribes are
easily traceable. The reputation
of both the land owner and the hunter
or fisherman would also suffer.
Licenses to drive in a non-POM society
would be, in effect, letters of recommendation
from those who attest to the driving
ability of the person attempting
to purchase or rent a car (or truck
or motorcycle or whatever). In as
much as the person who provides the
vehicle will share responsibility
for any accidents the driver has
(as will those who contributed to
the vehicle falling into the driver's
hands including the manufacturer
and his/her suppliers) the vehicle
provider will be very careful to
sell or give the vehicle only to
someone they have excellent reason
to trust. Thus, drivers who seem
likely to have accidents or to be
irresponsible in their dealings with
others will be unlikely to have much
chance to gain access to vehicles.
In short, the driver's license will
no longer exist because it will no
longer be needed.
But there is another meaning of
the word "license" that
has to do with permission to use
an invention or process or to practice
some profession. This meaning will
also change in the non-POM society.
One doesn't need a license to use
an invention or a process developed
by someone else. They will desire
that one use it because that can
increase their income. Their interests
will coincide with the user's in
the use of the invention. If the
invention or process results in harm,
others will attempt to prevent its
use and repair the damage. Everyone
will have a motive and incentive
to prevent the damage by improving
the process or ending its use.
The same applies to such things
as a license to practice medicine.
There will still be those who attest
to the qualifications and character
of persons who wish to practice medicine
or law or any other profession. Their
recommendations will be taken very
seriously because they will profit
or lose money based on the actual
performance of those they recommend.
If they are asked to recommend an
incompetent and they do not describe
that person as incompetent, they
will lose money from the resulting
harm. Therefore, a license is unnecessary
because everyone will have a known
reputation regardless of what they
do. Finally, it is not the government's
business in a non-POM society to
tell people what they may and may
not do. There simply will be no enforcement
of any laws that would attempt to
control the citizens.
Previous: Non-POM and
Medicine
Next: Non-POM and the Rich
Ready to discuss the book and articles? Please join us at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pomeducation/.
Care to comment? Please click here to email us!
|