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On the Rule of the Road Summary in English.

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Introduction : On the rule of the road, A. G. Gardiner emphasises the necessity of certain constraints on individual liberty if society is to function in a genuinely civilised manner.

Social awareness : A plump old lady was walking with her basket in the middle of the road in Petrograd. It created great confusion to the traffic. Even her own life was in danger. Somebody pointed out to her that the pavement was meant for the pedestrians. Her reply was that she enjoyed liberty and could walk anywhere she liked. She did not realise that her liberty or such unrestrained freedom could lead to an all-round disorder. If everybody interferes with the liberties of others, nobody would be able to enjoy liberty. This could lead to social anarchy.

Liberty drunk public: In the modem world, people are liberty dmnk like that old lady. Therefore, it is important to remind them what the mle of the road means. It means that to preserve the liberties of all, everybody’s liberties must be reduced. He makes his point clear with an example of a traffic policeman. The traffic policeman is not a symbol of tyranny but of liberty. An unreasonable man will be annoyed by the interference of the traffic policeman. If the policeman stops a man in a hurry, he will feel that his liberty has been injured by violence. A reasonable man will surely think him to be the right man to do so. If he does not interfere with him, he would interfere with none. It would lead to chaos. Then nobody would be able to cross the road. Therefore, one’s liberty has to be curtailed to create social order and make liberty real.

Personal liberty vs Public liberty :

Liberty is not only a personal affair but a social contract too. It requires an adjustment of our interests. There are matters of a private kingdom which does not touch anybody else’s liberty’. In this kingdom, one can follow one’s own fancy and ask no one’s permission. For example, one may follow any religion or one may marry a dark or fair lady. One may dye one’s hair or do whatever one may like with his hairstyle. These actions do not interfere with the liberties of others. But w’hen one comes out of the kingdom of one’s personal liberty of action, becomes qualified by other people’s liberty. For example, one may like to play upon a guitar. But one should do the practice mildly to accommodate one’s liberty to others liberties. But most often people forget this. People look to the faults of others but forget their own. A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others is the foundation of social conduct.

Equal rights for small and big people :

Rights and liberties of small people are as important as those of small nationalities. Gardiner here condemns the attack of Germany on Belgium. In World War-II, Germany, a super military pow’er overran the small and poorly equipped Belgium. He also criticises the aggressive and bullying nature of some people and nations of the w orld. He called them an ugly specimen of a civilised world.

Small actions with big impact : Small actions of conduct count more. By these actions, like observing or not the rules of the road, we can be civilised or uncivilised. It is the little habits of common place intercourse that make up the great sum of life sweeter or make the journey bitter.

Conclusion : A.G. Gardiner illustrates with interesting examples of how the social anarchy could be prevented by adhering to rules of the road. In a way, adhering to rules of the road will not only retain a social order but also prevent fatal accidents on the road and embarrassing traffic jams.

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