How to break rules and be smug about it

Three approaches to deal with rules:

• docile: the rule is the rule and therefore it should be followed. Apparently the source of the rule has authority. Ordnung muss sein.
• selfish: the rule has no authority. Instead we are opportunistic and calculative. What is the benefit of breaking a rule? What is the chance that I get caught? What are the consequences?
• hypocrite: does the rule apply to me now? Maybe it was written with other people in mind, or maybe for a different situation.

I chose to give all three approaches a name with a negative connotation, to not directly give away my stance. But I favor the hypocrite approach. I would even go as far as call it the ideal approach, or the “mature approach”. I don’t actually advocate being a hypocrite though. But I think that it should be possible to put your own morality central when pondering the applicability of rules, without being a hypocrite.

For the mature approach to work, you need to have some knowledge:

• what goal did the rule maker have in mind when making the rule?
• is that goal in line with my own morality?
• what are the practical consequences of me following or not following the rule?

Or, in simpler terms: “does this rule make sense now?”

Rules, even if written by noble and competent rule-makers, can not be relied on to always make sense. Simply because the world is too complex, and too much evolving to catch in text.

Therefore, feel free to consider if it is time to make an exception, and break these pesky rules! The downside of this approach, of course, is that you can really easily slip into hypocrisy and selfishness. That’s why you need to be on guard, and reflect on these kind of things. And be extra strict for yourself. That’s it.