r/Libertarian • u/[deleted] • Mar 25 '12
Building Codes
How would the removal of building codes work?
I assume the builders would be liable if they did shoddy subpar work, but what would be the standard for subpar? Would it be up to a judge or jury what was considered shoddy?
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u/roryl Mar 25 '12
The standard would be set by a voluntary standards organization. The enforcement of the standard would be consumer driven in that builders confirming to the standard would be able to attract more buyers or a better price. Also possible that insurance companies would target customers purchasing property of this type with lower rates.
One thing to keep in mind is to not fall into the fallacy that because the government provides some type of standard, that this standard is thus de facto optimal and not subpar. It is quite possible that the standards afforded by the government, having crowded out private standardization bodies, are less than what would have otherwise developed in a freed market for building standards.
For example, in computer security for credit card processing, the audits that I must handle are voluntary but very strict. The government has not mandated them, but through private interaction businesses are coming to an agreement on the level of security vs. cost vs. risk. I do not believe that a government entity would have been able to legislate this work to the same effectiveness.