In a free society each and every man lives under a rule of law, as opposed to a whim-ridden rule of men.
Such a rule of law has only one purpose: to protect the rights of the smallest minority that has ever existed — the individual.
Such laws form a non-contradictory body of principled legislation, which hold a man innocent until he can be proven guilty according to an objective standard, as opposed to a plethora of regulations which hold a man guilty until he can somehow prove himself innocent, to the gratification of a bureaucrat able to gain a foothold in public office.
In a free society it is the actions of government — and not the actions of citizens — that are regulated.
