Agree with your point in principle, but I'd nitpick with your example. Building regulations & planning approval are a matter of public safety precisely because

Agree with your point in principle, but I'd nitpick with your example. Building regulations & planning approval are a matter of public safety precisely because human beings have a millenia-long track record of putting together dwellings in weird ways using whatever materials are available/convenient, and often aren't aware of the repurcussions. Should it be okay for someone to build a 3-storey domestic dwelling, in a unique way, out of unregulated materials, 4 feet from another home? Not next to my home it shouldn't. Nor should it be my responsibility to discover & research their building materials and lodge a complaint. If they want to build their house using 3d-printed ceramic blocks using plans they downloaded from douchebrick.io, and raw materials they sourced themselves, then the burden of proof should reasonably be on them that they're not putting neighbours, friends, Airbnb guests, adjacent property, kids fetching their ball from your garden, tenants, future buyers, passers-by, postal workers, and Avon ladies at risk. You could make an argument that these approval processes should move faster, but it doesn't sound like the argument you're making, and it may result in more mistakes (Asbestos anyone?).