Rules
Written or unwritten norms and laws that we agree, or are made, to follow and how the game is played.
How We Say It
roolz
Where It Comes From
Latin regula — straight stick, ruler, rule. From regere — to direct. Originally a physical straightedge used as a measuring tool. Monastic 'rules' — the Rule of Saint Benedict — were among the first codified behavioral systems in Western Europe.
How It's Been Used
Distinguished from laws (state-enforced), norms (informally enforced), principles (general, prior to rules), and standards (often flexible). Rule-utilitarianism contrasts with act-utilitarianism in ethics. Game theory and institutional economics study how rule systems produce equilibria. 'Rules-based international order' became a frequent diplomatic phrase in the post-WWII era and is contested by rising powers.