Questioning the need for rules and regulations

Questioning the need for rules and regulations

By Ignas Kleden

JAKARTA (JP): Regulation and deregulation have become key
words in public discussions of the political and economic
conditions of Indonesia. The debates generally focus on whether
we should tolerate more regulations or deregulate existing ones.

Regulation is the other side of rule. Regulation and rule are
usually taken together because both make up the two inseparable
aspects of a social norm. Every social norm is established with a
double function. Internally, it aims to be a guideline to lead,
to give directions, to show how someone should behave or what
someone should do. Externally, it aims to inhibit. It establishes
what someone should not do, or sets the limits which one should
not trespass.

In sociological terms, the internal function of a social norm
is called rule, whereas the external one is called regulation.
The problem is that in many cases there are too many regulations
with too few rules. When people are only told what they should
not do, social behavior becomes oriented towards avoiding
mistakes, rather than striving to achieve.

To put it in theological terms: the fear of sin is greater
than the initiative to do good deeds.

One way to promote creative social behavior is to turn around
the situation and create clear rules while reducing vague
regulations. A taxi driver, a chief editor or a multinational
manager is more likely to follow clearly established rules than
attempt to escape regulations which are implemented according to
the opportunity principle. Living with clear rules is easier and
more creative than living under the pressure of unclear
regulations.

One of social indicators which differentiates a modern state
from a less modern one is that the former relies on the balance
between rules and regulations whereas the second relies more on
regulations.

The reason is evident. Clear rules allow citizens to argue
about and contribute to social order, whereas regulations only
afford officials the chance to talk about social order according
to their own definition.

Some years back I took a taxi from Penang airport to the
city's Beach Hotel. Used to sitting in a car without fastening
the seat belt as is always the case in Jakarta, I just sat in the
front seat waiting for the driver to start the car. He waited
patiently until I caught a strange glimpse in his eyes. I asked
him to start his car since I was late for a conference. Patiently
and politely he said to me, "Sir, please fasten your seat belt
according to Malaysian law". I was somewhat shocked, though in
hindsight it remains for me a disarmingly beautiful experience. I
only wish I could hear the same thing in my home country of
Indonesia.

The writer is a sociologist with the Jakarta-based SPES
Foundation Research Center.