Lennart Thornros <lenn...@thornros.com> wrote:
> See the licensing system for different trades, which is close to medieval > rules for trade. > Not just close; they are the same in many instances, for good reason. People in medieval times were not fools. In another example, many building codes in Pennsylvania are the same today as they were in 1790. I understand that there need to be requirements for certain services. The > question is who is capable of judging - I for sure know government is > totally incapable. > All of these standards are set by industry, not by government. The government enforces standards which are set by organizations such as the ASME. Many laws simply reference ASME publications saying that products "will meet these standards." So this statement makes no sense. It is a tautology: Standards set by industry are set by industry. Naturally, government experts at places like NIST contribute to the standards, but no standard is ever implemented without consultation and expert input from industry. Without standards industry would be in chaos, unable to accomplish anything. The most important U.S. person of the industrial standards movement in the 20th century was Secretary of Commerce and later President Herbert Hoover. He was not a left wing figure, opposed to capitalism or industry. - Jed
