Re:Airbnb And The Unstoppable Rise Of The Share Economy
by geebee on Wednesday January 23, 2013 @11:45PM
(#5107411)
A few people have commented on this "law is a terrible tool" comment I made, so I should probably clarify.
What I mean is that it's better when people can reach a mutual agreement. My neighbor doesn't play the drums loudly at 2am because I've talked it over with him and he agrees, especially since I don't mind if he plays at other times. That's better for everyone than going to the law and forcing him to stop.
But if people can't agree and someone has to be coerced, then of course the law isn't a terrible tool at all, it's the best tool, far better than the other options.
> The law is a terrible tool, way worse than just talking to your neighbors, but when you have a new neighbor every three days,it may be all you've got.
On the contrary. The law is the tool of choice for dealing with externalities. Much of the law occupies itself with either preventing negative externalities (e.g. environmental regulation), or addressing free-riding on positive externalities (e.g. private property). Situations involving externalities are actually the strongest case for invoking the law, because in these situations individual rational self interest is inconsistent with the behavior that optimizes overall social well-being.