By Futurist Thomas Frey
Very few countries have their laws posted in a central repository. In the U.S., the laws, rules, and regulations are so numerous and obscure that few people know what laws are governing them at any given moment.
Right now, you’re violating laws you don’t know exist. Not because you’re a criminal, but because the legal systems we live under have become so complex, so fragmented, and so inaccessible that comprehensive compliance is literally impossible.
Federal laws, state laws, county ordinances, city codes, HOA rules, professional regulations, industry standards—they overlap, contradict, and multiply faster than anyone can track. The average American unknowingly commits three felonies a day according to some legal scholars. Not intentionally. Just by living normal life in a system where nobody—not even lawyers—knows all the rules.
If a central “law repository” were created—and all laws should be public knowledge anyway—our global legal systems could move into a new era of transparency. Business people would be able to make conscious decisions about whether they want to do business in a certain country based on the number of laws they may have to contend with.
This isn’t a small problem. It’s undermining the entire concept of rule of law.
Continue reading… “The Whole Earth Law Project: Why We Need a Global Repository of Every Law”