Nobody likes waiting in line. You’re waiting in line at the DMV, for concert tickets, movie tickets, at the theme park. In non-First World societies or in First World societies that experience temporary collapse, waiting in line takes the form of breadlines, food lines, lines for assistance.
Yet the alternative is worse: a mob rush for resources in which the strongest get the most, the less-strong get less, and the weakest end up with nothing.
Waiting in line is pure democracy. You don’t have to be strong or aggressive or violent. You don’t need smarts or savvy. You don’t need connections to powerful people.
You can buy into this form of democracy by doing only one thing: showing up. You can gain an advantage in only one legitimate way: showing up earlier than the person in front of you.
In a conversation with Dave Rubin, Heather MacDonald says that
the rule of law is the essence of a civilization we lose that and you get third world anarchy with everybody trying to game the system. You know, queueing is a thing of beauty. We take it for granted but for people to be able to quietly wait in line and wait their place, as opposed to trying to, you know, get to the top and just muscle everybody else out
