Question

(b) What aspects of civility does A. G.
Gardener bring out in his essay ‘On the
Rule of the Road'?​

Answer 1

A.G. Gardiner defines the "rule of the road" in the following way: "It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the liberties of everybody must be curtailed." In other words, each person must have some limits on his or her freedom in order to enjoy the freedom that comes from social order. This order relies on everyone understanding how their actions affect those of other people. Gardiner claims that people are becoming "liberty drunk" and only recalling their liberties, not the responsibilities and limits that this liberty relies on.

A.G. Gardiner defines the "rule of the road" in the following way: "It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the liberties of everybody must be curtailed." In other words, each person must have some limits on his or her freedom in order to enjoy the freedom that comes from social order. This order relies on everyone understanding how their actions affect those of other people. Gardiner claims that people are becoming "liberty drunk" and only recalling their liberties, not the responsibilities and limits that this liberty relies on.Today, people often drive with a goal of arriving at their destinations as quickly as possible with, at best, little consideration for those around them and, at worst, a reckless disregard for others. There are frequent incidents of "road rage" and general disregard for rules (for example, people often go around people on exit ramps onto highways, not seeming to care that such an action is very dangerous). Many people's major goal seems to be to pursue their greatest degree of freedom in driving in the way they would like, but they seem to forget that their actions impose a lack of freedom on others. If their actions cause an accident, the order we all rely on to drive will be broken, and no one will get anywhere. People must submit to rules and to some limits so that we can all access the freedom that can only come from a condition of social order.