> But if you re-do you own home wiring, you effectively become a "builder". And you probably aren't a member of that industry organization.
But what fraction of people do that? That's my point--ideologically I agree with you. But I don't think you can take what is basically a corner case in the legal regime and point to that and say it's an unreasonable tool for the elite to use the law to oppress the weak.
I don't buy your "public/private" dichotomy at all. The government should defer to the expertise of private industry when necessary. The small potential for abuse (and there is no evidence that the standards bodies here are abusing their position), does not justify imposing laws on everybody designed by government bureaucrats acting outside their area of expertise.
But I don't think you can take what is basically a corner case in the legal regime and point to that and say it's an unreasonable tool for the elite to use the law to oppress the weak.
I guess we don't disagree too much then. FWIW, I'm not saying anything about "the elite oppressing the weak" - at least not in this context. To me this really is just a matter of principle.
The government should defer to the expertise of private industry when necessary. The small potential for abuse (and there is no evidence that the standards bodies here are abusing their position), does not justify imposing laws on everybody designed by government bureaucrats acting outside their area of expertise.
This is why I'd prefer to get the government out of this altogether. But, then again, I'm a Libertarian, so I want the government out of pretty much everything altogether. :-)
But what fraction of people do that? That's my point--ideologically I agree with you. But I don't think you can take what is basically a corner case in the legal regime and point to that and say it's an unreasonable tool for the elite to use the law to oppress the weak.
I don't buy your "public/private" dichotomy at all. The government should defer to the expertise of private industry when necessary. The small potential for abuse (and there is no evidence that the standards bodies here are abusing their position), does not justify imposing laws on everybody designed by government bureaucrats acting outside their area of expertise.