How do you determine which fields of service are “too critical” to allow people to practice without government approval?
And couldn’t those professions establish their own seal of approval, and let people decide for themselves if they care?
My favorite example is Kosher law, where Kosher is determined not by the state, but by the religious leaders. But the state provides trademark protection so others can’t falsely claim to be Kosher.
I contrast that with “Organic” foods, where it used to be private, but someone got Government to pass a federal regulation defining Organic. Now multi-national corporations lobby congress to fix the “Organic” definition to their liking, and the little folks who were the heart of the organic movement are priced out, and organic organizations spend all their time fighting against the changes in the definitions that they dislike.
“How do you determine which fields of service are “too critical†to allow people to practice without government approval?”
By exercising judgment, most of it common sense. I realize these concepts are offensive and frightening to many Libertarians, but they are not so bad when you give them a try.
For example:
Brain surgeons - Yes
Shoe shine boys - No
Lawyers - Yes
Walmart cashiers - No
You see, that wasn’t so hard. It didn’t hurt you a bit.
I do think the government should provide definitions, to wit certifications. If you call something a “fish stick”, we should know that as a nation the term has been defined and a contract referencing the term need not address all conceivable variations. Likewise “heart surgeon” or “flower arranger” should be uniformly defined, and anyone taking on the term should, unless otherwise redefined in a contract, adhere to the nationally standardized definition thereof; a “heart surgeon” should be accredited as such with X Y and Z training, and a “flower arranger” should presumably be more than someone picking plants off the side of the road and shoving them in containers. The idea is that common folk can use common terms in common ways without being blindsided by uncommon absurd variations thereon; contracts are great, so long as I don’t need 30 pages of legalese to ensure my barber doesn’t decide to cut my hair with Nair.
Definitions are distinct from licensing, where you must beg other citizens for permission to use a moniker.