Does Society Have Too Many Rules?
Posted4 months agoActive4 months ago
newyorker.comOtherstory
skepticalmixed
Debate
40/100
Social NormsRulesFreedom
Key topics
Social Norms
Rules
Freedom
Discussion on whether society has too many rules, with varying opinions on their impact.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Light discussionFirst comment
24m
Peak period
1
0-1h
Avg / period
1
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Sep 10, 2025 at 11:13 PM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Sep 10, 2025 at 11:37 PM EDT
24m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
1 comments in 0-1h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Sep 11, 2025 at 2:25 AM EDT
4 months ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
ID: 45207315Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 6:12:57 PM
Want the full context?
Jump to the original sources
Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.
02. HOA rules, not as extensive as #1, but still you are always doing something wrong. It could be fines for grass in the lawn 1.6mm higher, or drying clothes or growing the wrong kind of plants. You may have to demolish and rebuild the entire roof if you didn't pay attention to exact shade of color.
03. City and County rules.
04. State rules.
05. Federal rules.
06. International rules. But most people are not in diplomatic positions.
07. Interplanetary rules. Unfortunately, we are left out of these because we are thinking meat and nobody wants to acknowledge us. [1]
#5 takes 30 - 50% of your money (ss, medicare, futa, income) and you don't get any benefit out of it, #3 and #4 take 10 - 15% and you get public schools and school buses (in some places), #2 takes odd quantities of money like a pickpocket, #1 takes all your money and you are always doing something wrong. There are no more revolutions because men are exhausted after #1 and #2. #3 - #5 mostly want your money and let you live in peace (as long as you keep paying them).
[1]They're Made out of Meat: https://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/think...