SUMMARY-ON THE RULE OF THE ROAD

Alfred George Gardiner is one of the most delightful essayists of the modern times. In this essay “The Rule Of the Road” he points out what constitutes true liberty.
A stout old lady was walking down in the middle of a street in Petrograd causing great confusion in the traffic. When this was pointed out, the old lady replied that she has the liberty to walk where she likes to roam. But the old lady doesn’t know that if liberty entitle the foot passenger to walk down the middle of the road it also entitle the cab driver to drive on the pavement and the end of such liberty would be a universal chaos.
The author points out that this kind of individual liberty would become a social anarchy.
The rule of the road means that in order “to preserve the liberties of all the liberties of everybody must be curtailed”.
When the policeman put out his hand at Piccadilly circus street, we must not think that our liberty has been violated. If we are a reasonable person we will reflect that he didn’t interfere and hence result would be that we would never cross the Piccadilly Circus Street at all. We have submitted to a curtailment of private liberty in order that we may enjoy a social order, which makes our liberty a reality.
The author point out that liberty is not a personal affair, but it is a social contract. It is an adjustment of interests. He lists out some examples of like
Wearing a gown and walking down the street
Having long hair
Walking with bare foot
Dyeing one’s hair or waxing
Going to bed early
Getting up late
Are few things that ask no man’s permission.
If one practices a trombone from midnight until three in the morning, on the Helvelly no one would ask that, but if we intend to play it in the street, the neighbours will remind us that our liberty to blow the trombone interferes with their liberty to sleep quiet.
The author once got into a railway carriage he started to read a blue book. He did not read that for pleasure instead a humble purpose of turning an honest penny out of them. Since he was reading for a task, he required  reasonable calmness and that is what he didn’t get. A couple of men came in the next station. They were talking for the rest of the journey in a loud and pompous voice. The author closed his book and looked out of the window. Here the author believes that the rights of small and quiet people are as important to preserve as the rights of small nationalities.
Hazlitt said that a man wanted to learn that fearsome instrument was entitled to learn it in his house. He can practise with his trombone by shutting the windows. Since it is his business, he can make nuisance as slight as possible. The same thing applies to a gramophone. If we want to hear, we can hear by limiting the noise.
The author concludes the essay by saying that we must be a judicious mixture of both anarchist and socialist. We have to preserve both the individual liberty and social liberty. It is in the small matter of conduct in the observance of the rule of the road, that we pass judgement upon ourselves and declare that we are civilized or uncivilized. These little habits of commonplace intercourse that make up the great sum of life and sweeten or make bitter the journey.