The reality is that as population increases, so inevitably does the need for regulation and loss of liberty.
When Dan'l Boone was the only person within 100 miles of his advance post, he could do pretty much whatever he pleased. Cut down trees. Shoot guns into the air. Defacate into the stream. Build a house without any concern for whether if it burned down it would take a neighbor's house with it, because there WAS no neighbor's house, and no fire department to be endangered. He could make all the noise he wanted without disturbing anybody but the wildlife.
As more people move into a territory, the need for more law becomes evident. At some point, nature can no longer cleanse the stream of its sewage by natural processes, and so there have to be laws made about septic tanks, drain fields, etc. When neighbors move, their rights have to be balanced against Boone's rights, which is why he kept moving on, at least according to the legends. Downtown NYC has more needs for laws than downtown Cripple Creek, simply because of the increased number of people affected by any act of any person.
As population continues to increase, certain liberties and freedoms will keep diminishing. Inevitably. Our community, for example, just last year passed its first noise ordinance. Now it's illegal to make too much noise. A law made necessary entirely by the increase in population.
If you want to increase freedom, kill off half the people. But if you want, for example, to allow freedom of procreation and generous immigration laws, but more freedom, you're creating an impossible conflict. |
