> and do not cause harm to any individuals You're moving the bar a little there. There will always be harm to individuals due to the law of unintended conseque

> and do not cause harm to any individuals You're moving the bar a little there. There will always be harm to individuals due to the law of unintended consequences. However, government regulation is really good at preventing a "Tragedy of the Commons." For instance, regulations on CFC emissions hurt a lot of individuals. However, they prevented a much greater tragedy. Removing lead from car exhaust marginally hurt an entire generation, while improving the lives of the next by orders of magnitude. Other examples: Building codes, Car Safety, Fair Labor Standards Act, Food and Drug Regulations.