The Commission for Stopping Further Improvements
Much like a Commission for Stopping Further Improvements, a Coalition for Stopping Further Regulation is equally short-sighted.<p>Brunel's contention that structural engineers should be qualified to make their own decisions unencumbered by regulation makes sense on the face of it. But then, what qualifies a structural engineer? Licensing, a product of regulation.<p>Like many things, regulation is, in isolation, neutral. It can serve the common good, or it can serve the interests of an unrepresentative cabal; it can be forward-looking and adaptable, or it can be hastily drafted by unqualified functionaries. Why couldn’t the regulators in Brunel's day have carved out an open-ended “unless otherwise demonstrated” around the use of iron structural members?