-7
Society should have 7 fundamental rules above the law (lemmy.cafe)
submitted 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) by NotAgaug@lemmy.cafe to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world
55 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I think that society should introduce 7 fundamental rules, which would be above the law. No law may overwrite those rules, change them or be against them:

  1. One should act with compassion and empathy
  2. One's own sense of justice must be put above the law
  3. Bodily freedom is supreme
  4. Freedoms of others, including freedom to offend, must be respected. One who violates the freedom of others gives up their freedom
  5. Unscientific beliefs are not allowed
  6. All who commit wrongdoing must rectify it.
  7. Above rules are interpreted according to common sense

Another thing I want to introduce, which is not a formal law, is optional taxation. People may choose not to pay taxes, but they would need to pay for public services.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 14 hours ago

I think justice is the ideal of law, and it is more important in that respect. I think a theoretical perfect law would be identical to a comprehensive, self-evident definition of justice. However, I think it's wise to presume that any law falls short of that ideal, and your "rules" are, technically, still laws.

They're kind of superlaws* to other laws, sort of the way the US Constitution is a superlaw to US federal law, which is itself a superlaw relative to state laws: the sublaws are still enforced, but when a sublaw contradicts a superlaw, the superlaw prevails. But, declaring themselves to be above the law doesn't make them not laws, it just makes them the top layer over all other laws.

I think it's important to never confuse laws with justice, because they never 100% line up. People tend to commit atrocities when they make that mistake.

* sublaw and superlaw are my own terms for this relationship. IDK if there's an official term for the relationship between hierarchical bodies of law

this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2026
-7 points (34.8% liked)

Unpopular Opinion

9533 readers
573 users here now

Welcome to the Unpopular Opinion community!

How voting works:

Vote the opposite of the norm.

If you agree that the opinion is unpopular give it an arrow up. If it's something that's widely accepted, give it an arrow down.

Guidelines:

Tag your post, if possible (not required)

  • If your post is a "General" unpopular opinion, start the subject with [GENERAL].
  • If it is a Lemmy-specific unpopular opinion, start it with [LEMMY].

Rules:

1. NO POLITICS

Politics is everywhere. Let's make this about [general] and [lemmy] - specific topics, and keep politics out of it.

2. Be civil.

Disagreements happen, but that doesn’t provide the right to personally attack others. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Please also refrain from gatekeeping others' opinions.

3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.

Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.

4. Shitposts and memes are allowed but...

Only until they prove to be a problem. They can and will be removed at moderator discretion.

5. No trolling.

This shouldn't need an explanation. If your post or comment is made just to get a rise with no real value, it will be removed. You do this too often, you will get a vacation to touch grass, away from this community for 1 or more days. Repeat offenses will result in a perma-ban.

6. Defend your opinion

This is a bit of a mix of rules 4 and 5 to help foster higher quality posts. You are expected to defend your unpopular opinion in the post body. We don't expect a whole manifesto (please, no manifestos), but you should at least provide some details as to why you hold the position you do.

Instance-wide rules always apply. https://legal.lemmy.world/tos/

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
JonsJava@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
Dremor@lemmy.world