Emperor Tiberius pushed around AD 20. numerous laws to encourage birth and passed several fiscal reforms with the same goal; among others, to increase taxes on singles ( nihil novum sub sole ). The historian Tacitus a century later, around 115 AD. – under the reign of the Spanish Trajà – he explains that he was not successful with these measures. This gives rise to the Roman historian, in the work Annals, a reflection on the laws, the motivation and the amount of them, so that, he writes, “it was not legislated for everyone, but also against particular men “. According to Tacitus – who, at the height of the empire, longed for the Roman republic -, many laws were passed, not thinking of the common good, but based on particular interests, ad personam, or to consolidate group privileges. He ends this reflection with the sentence-like sentence, which gives the title to this column.
I remembered these words of Tacitus when reading the report on the normative production in 2022 in Spain according to which 849 norms with the rank of law (laws and legislative decrees or decree laws) were approved at state level that year, that is to say, more of two a day – both new rules and modifications to existing ones -, which makes it the third year with the most legislation of the last ten. And you have to add the 340 autonomous communities. To be aware of all this legislative production, a Spaniard would have to read almost 700 pages a day (something like reading half Don Quixote every day, much better!).
Does anyone read all of this? It is clear that we need laws, but not so many. This legislative excess goes against the democratic quality of our country, against justice and also against equality and against the freedom of citizens.
There is no sports commentator who does not use the expression “Spanish fury” to describe the passion, drive and intensity with which Spanish athletes or teams compete, reflecting a fighting spirit and determination.
In view of the data, instead of a sporting trait, the “Hispanic fury” is rather “legislative fury”. National and regional deputies, and political parties, must be reminded of what Tacitus wrote 2,000 years ago: “The more corrupt the State, the more laws there are”.