Forbidden or Mandatory: When States Impose Too Many Rules – Liberal Analysis.

Strangulation by Prohibitions: When Society Prohibits Rather than Emancipates

Western societies, particularly France, pride themselves on being models of freedom and democracy. However, even a superficial observation reveals a very different reality: we live in a labyrinth of rules, prohibitions, and obligations that, little by little, undermine any form of real autonomy; we live in the forbidden or the obligatory .

Here are other concrete examples of this regulatory suffocation, which goes well beyond simple “protection” and borders on generalized infantilization .

A very brief summary of the prohibitions we experience on a daily basis (Illustration)

summarised and shortened illustration) of bans

Whether prohibited or mandatory, pressure is being exerted on the people because, as you understand, this is not just about road signs, but about everyday life.

1. The Hunt for Economic Freedoms

➤ Crafts and small businesses strangled

• Ban on working on Sundays (except for complex exemptions), even though many consumers want it.

• Absurd standards in the restaurant industry : A food truck is sometimes required to have portable toilets, even if it only serves takeout.

• Taxes and charges that discourage self-employed people, which discourage private initiative.

➤ Agriculture on regulatory life support

• Ban on neonicotinoids (pesticides), forcing French beet growers to import sugar... produced with these same pesticides abroad.

• Ban on irrigation during periods of drought , even when water tables are full, in the name of a “precautionary principle” detached from reality.

Resistance to prohibitions and obligations

Fed up with bans

2. Daily Life Under Control

➤ Private property? A decoy

• It is forbidden to dig a well in your garden without permission (despite water shortages).

• It is forbidden to cut down a tree (even dead or dangerous) if the town hall has classified it as “remarkable”.

• Obligation to connect to the sewer system (even with a perfectly functioning septic tank), under penalty of a fine.

➤ Traffic: an administrative nightmare

• LEZs (Low Emission Zones) : Millions of low-income drivers can no longer drive in their own cities, while the rich buy new "green" cars.

• Discriminatory radars : the proliferation of turret radars, hidden mobile radars, 80 km/h speed limits on empty roads... The State considers motorists as pigeons to be plucked.

• Banning old cars , even perfectly maintained ones, in the name of ecology... while their carbon footprint is often better than an electric car made in China.

3. Health: A Domain Reserved for Public Morality

➤ Health paternalism

• Ban on nicotine in sachets (snus), while tobacco, which is much more dangerous, remains on sale over the counter.

• Ban on disposable e-cigarettes , despite their usefulness for smoking cessation.

• Disguised vaccination obligation (health pass, professional restrictions for the unvaccinated).

➤ Ecological and food hypocrisy

• Ban on plastic straws , but cigarette butts (much more polluting) are allowed.

• Hunting down traditional products (cold meats, raw milk cheese) under the pretext of "health risks", while alcohol and sugar, which are much more deadly, are freely available.

4. Freedom of Expression and Single Thought

➤ Disguised censorship

• Avia law against “online hate” , used to silence divergent opinions.

• Withdrawal of books or films deemed “problematic” (e.g.: Tintin in the Congo , Gone with the Wind ).

• Social pressure against humor (jokes about certain topics = “fascism”).

➤ Formatted Education

• Elimination of grades in some schools, in the name of “equality”, but at the expense of excellence.

• Ban on home schooling (IEF) except with prefectural authorization, reducing parents' educational choices.

Freedom, the Big Loser of “Good Intentions”

Every new law, every new restriction is justified by a noble motive: security, equality, ecology, health... But in the end, these justifications become nothing more than pretexts for extending the State's control over our lives.

The result?

• A society where initiative is punished , where innovation is stifled by red tape.

• A people who are infantilized , who are constantly told: "You are not capable of deciding for yourselves."

• An economy paralyzed by contradictory standards and absurd prohibitions.

George Orwell said, "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot crushing a human face—forever." Today, the boot is less visible. It takes the form of a municipal bylaw, a punitive tax, a ban "for our own good."

The question is no longer: "Are we still free?" But: "To what extent do we accept that we are no longer free?"

Compulsory posters, compulsory vaccinations, thought leadership, propaganda...Compulsory posters, compulsory vaccinations, thought leadership, propaganda...

prohibited or compulsory

When it's not forbidden, it's compulsoryWhen it's not forbidden, it's compulsory

We live in the forbidden or the obligatory . So, what else?

This text should spark debate. Of course, some regulations are necessary, but the balance is upset. What do you think? Forbidden or MandatoryWhere would you draw the line between protection and oppression?