I entirely agree with this analysis. The compulsion element of metrication
(in the UK) does not go beyond what is quite normal for a fair and civilised
society. Measurement standards for official and trade purposes are
necessarilty subject to regulation. Any society making a change or adopting
a system for the first time is bound to find some need for steps which might
seem overly constraining initially. Once the transition phase is over and
the new sytem establishes itself they become the norm that people might come
to defend against the threat of further change.
There is no historical precedent for defining standards of measurement on
the basis of some kind of nationwide referendum or democratic vote. It's
always an agent acting on behalf of government that decides these things. In
the end it's purely a technical matter.
Phil Hall
>Daniel
All change comes by force, either by edict or by removal of the old ways.
That not true.
But in any case, I warn people not to reinforce stereotype:
*Metric units can only exist by compulsion *Non-metric units are chosen by
free will
Imperial units are not chosen by free will. Many government regulations
mandate and encourage non-metric units. For example, the FPLA, building
regulations, reporting rules. The immense power of the government over
citizens and businesses ensures that free will cannot be fully exercised.
There is more freedom about units of measure in a Moroccan market than
there
is in a US store.
I am always surprised about how often people use the word 'freedom' in
abstract form when the reality is much different. For example people
frequently repeat the falsehood:
*We have freedom of speech
It is surprising how common that false belief is. There is merely limited
protection to certain kinds of speech.
Even without coercion, the government influences the decisions of citizens
and businesses because it is the largest customer in the country. It has a
budget measured in trillions. The decisions of a few key individuals can
spend the money of many taxpayers on large corporations. Even the rules
governing how the government behaves are unlike those in a free society.
They are influenced by lobbying, mostly from large corporations.
Government (i.e. taxpayer) decisions and money influence the market in
very
visible secondary ways. For example, many by private citizens buy hummers
because they are a vehicle of government choice. If the government had
made
a different choice, many of the private citizens would spend their money
with a different manufacturer.
One of the less well known features of metrication is the ability of the
government to metricate itself fairly silently without radical methods.
The
US army has metricated itself without a fuss or a suggestion that they are
supporting communist measurement units. For many years, new British laws
and
regulations have been written using metric units. It has not been a matter
of increase or decrease in 'freedom'. The amount of freedom has remained
static and they have exchanged one mandatory measure (6 inches) for
another
(150 mm). So each plumber, carpenter, architect, bricklayer etc has
encountered metric units in this way over time. I am sure you can all
think
of more examples of how this works.
Please do not fall into the trap of accepting the "non-metric units are
chosen by free will" stereotype. None of us live in a free society. Next
time somebody uses the word 'freedom', think about whether they are just
repeating a popular mantra that keeps them satisfied with their chains.
In respect of units of measurement, we can aspire to increase freedom and
to
modify the form of compulsion. Reducing compulsory non-metric units can be
a
part of that.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
Of Daniel
Sent: 11 September 2005 20:15
To: U.S. Metric Association
Subject: [USMA:34419] RE: test message
Since your messages are posting now, just resend all the messages that
failed to post.
Dan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Terry Simpson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, 2005-09-11 14:41
Subject: [USMA:34418] RE: test message
Of Terry Simpson
Two messages have not appeared. This is a third.
Hmm. I can see this third message yet I cannot see the messages that I
posted at:
Sep 10 12:02 and Sep 11 12:03
Nor can I see those two messages in the archive. Does anybody know what
could have happened?
