Comment by martin-t

I never said we didn't need rules, just that when they are too specific, people tend to follow the letter but break the spirit of the rule.

(Sidenote, one deeply ingrained idea is that the law is somehow special compared to other rules. The only real difference is that the law is enforced by violence while other rules are not.)

I was also talking about criminal law so the questions about minimum wage, contracts and voting are irrelevant regardless if you want specific or general rules about punishments.