But it is almost surreal to think that the most fundamental act of man, to feed yourself in order to remain alive, requires a license fee paid to government
Slightly OT but in this case, given that unrestricted fishing might well cause the fish to go extinct in short order, so nobody can benefit from them to feed their families (see: tragedy of the commons), some form of government regulation might be a pretty good idea, 'fundamental laws' notwithstanding.
I think this is where we might differ. I believe that people are fundamentally good. Yes, there's an ass in every crowd, but I really believe most people are good and would voluntarily follow reasonable rules.
That said, I don't have a problem with having carefully chosen and crafted laws that punish bad behavior. In other words, I should be able to go fishing without having to pay the government for a permit.
I'll give you a concrete example of the "people are fundamentally good" idea. Yesterday, as I said, I took the kids fishing to a local lake. When we got there we saw a sign that said something like "<name> Cove closed due to spawning. No boat or fishing". We actually motored by the cove en-route to our spot. There were no signs there and only a couple of buoys marking low submerged rocky formations. Not one person was fishing there. Not one boat entered. There must have been dozens of boats on the lake. This area is very isolated. The closest ramp is nearly five miles away. You could go in there and do as you wish, yet people responsibly respected the request to not do so.
I really don't think most sports fishermen would go out and fish at an industrial scale if permits were not required. Today, you'd easily let everyone know of limits, seasons and issues via email/web methods and the vast majority of people would comply. That's what I believe. I could be wrong.
Google "tragedy of the commons". People are not fundamentally good. They lie, cheat and steal, if they can get away with it. Good behavior results from successful socialization. Socialization can also result in some pretty bad behavior. Regulation is necessary because not all people are "good" to some arbitrary standard. Even I'm not good. I just had to fork over $277 for going 35 in a 25 mph zone, but I would rather pay my fine than have no police at all.
Even if people are fundamentally good, someone still has to gather the data necessary to decide what a reasonable limit is, and someone has to advertise that limit. The next step is to turn the limit into a law so that it has an effect even on careless people.
Slightly OT but in this case, given that unrestricted fishing might well cause the fish to go extinct in short order, so nobody can benefit from them to feed their families (see: tragedy of the commons), some form of government regulation might be a pretty good idea, 'fundamental laws' notwithstanding.