[Cultural Jihad]

In theory, do driver's licenses make the public safer? Why require passports or visas for alien visitors, for that matter?

[Publius Valerius]

Well, I don't have a passport and I don't travel abroad for that very reason. But, passports can serve an arguably valid policy purpose by regulating the folks that come into the country. Nations have a valid interest in controlling immigration, and it becomes more difficult to do so without passports.

As I said, though, I think they're pretty much garbage, especially in this day and age, and I don't have one and I won't travel to a country that requires one because of it. So, outside North America is off limits to me.

To answer your question about driver's licenses, I don't think they make the public safer at all--I think they are merely a means for the machinery of government to punish "lawbreakers" and collect fines. If speeding didn't exist, I doubt seriously there would be such a pressing need for driver's licenses.