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THE YARDSTICK OF NEED by Michael Mitchell We’ve all heard it before. “It’s okay to ban those There are two fundamental reasons why
need is a very poor yardstick to use when it comes to
government regulations. First, it’s none of the
government’s - or anyone else’s - business to determine
what another human being needs. Second, the sentiment that
the government can ban technology based on an appraisal of the
people’s need to own it, sets a precedent which is
devastating to liberty, if allowed to its logical conclusion. To the first point, why are government bureaucrats and
politicians somehow qualified to determine what people
“need”? They’ve declared that nobody needs
small, cheap handguns (the racist slur “Saturday night
special” is often applied; however, that term is being
replaced with “pocket rocket” - a term with even more
interesting origins). Who needs them? Inner-city working poor,
who don’t have the financial resources to afford
self-defense tools any more expensive. Nobody
needs a high capacity semiautomatic (the “assault
weapon”), eh? Tell that to the store and home owners in
downtown Los Angeles, who survived attacks by rioters only
because they were armed with high-capacity weapons capable of
“rapid fire”. Nobody needs a “sniper
rifle” (this one is almost farcical)? Ask the millions of
deer hunters throughout the nation - the people who keep
you from being killed by crashing your car into a deer by
culling the population. Just for the sake of argument,
though, let’s agree that even these demonstrable uses of
various firearms do not constitute a real need. There’s
another, more sinister, element involved here as well. If you
accept that it’s okay for the government to ban technology
based on their appraisal of your need to own it, watch out.
You’ll lose your TV, your computer, your hobby equipment
(whatever your hobby may be), your air conditioner, your Calvin
Kleins, your video games, your running water, your toilets, and
your disposable diapers. Say bye-bye to paved roads, sodas,
restaurants, telephones, newspapers, books, VCRs, and
electricity. Radios, tape players, CDs, and the Internet are
things of the past; forget airplanes, or, for that matter,
automobiles. Humans survived just fine for centuries without
them. Nikes, sporting events, movies, Wal-Mart, and manufacturing
plants evaporate. More fundamentally, who needs money?
After all, the barter system worked well throughout most of
history. Face it: The vast majority of the trappings of
our modern life are not needs. They are conveniences -
technologies which make our lives and tasks easier, more
comfortable, more efficient. When you get right down to it, the
actual needs of the human species are really pretty simple. We
need food (which our ancient ancestors obtained through hunting
and gathering), shelter (easily provided by crude structures or
caves; $200,000 houses aren’t required), and some measure of
protection from the elements (such as warm clothing in the
wintertime). Anything else is a convenience - something that
allows us to live and work better, or more efficiently, or more
comfortably. Are you still sure that need is an
appropriate yardstick to use when evaluating the
government’s permission to regulate technologies?
Copyright 2000 Michael A. Mitchell. Permission is hereby
granted to reproduce this article in its entirety, including this
copyright notice and website attribution. Mike writes for http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com; you
can contact him at mmitch6121@aol.com
and read his other writings here. |
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