# Questions about Ankh-Morpork law **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2007, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681 "2007-06-20T05:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681/21 "2007-06-21T00:05:21Z")
…but of course, you’ll want ketchup with that rat. Ever had rat without ketchup? Of course not. ---
**Author:** ![Asgardking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Asgardking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asgardking)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681/22 "2007-06-21T03:11:41Z")
There are also some traffic laws which are inforced by the Watch’s traffic detail. ---
**Author:** ![PerditaX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@PerditaX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerditaX)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681/23 "2007-06-21T11:56:01Z")
It would appear, from the events in **Jingo** and **Going Postal** that Ankh-Morpork “law,” or at least Lord Vetinari’s interpretation of same, has one goal only: the protection of The City as a whole, the city he loves. Common street crime is a nuisance, but doesn’t affect the mechanism of the city. The trumped-up war with Klatch, the corruption of the Grand Trunk - those are full-scale threats. In other words, he sees “white collar” crime as much more serious than the normal thieves-assassins-street gangs kind. I think that’s one reason he allowed the **Times** (_“The Truth shall make ye Fret”_) to stay in operation: it’s better able to ferret out those kind of things than official investigations are. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681/24 "2007-06-21T12:09:57Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] What Pattrician Veternari did was, knowing that there was no way to stop the crime in Ankh-Morpork, he organized it. He gave the Thieves’ Guild a monopoly on theft, for instance, and he coopted the guild leaders, making them important people in the city’s functioning. So now, crime in the city is self-policing. [/QUOTE] And _taxed_! ---
**Author:** ![Saitou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Saitou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saitou)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681/25 "2007-06-21T12:24:36Z")
[QUOTE=PerditaX] It would appear, from the events in **Jingo** and **Going Postal** that Ankh-Morpork “law,” or at least Lord Vetinari’s interpretation of same, has one goal only: the protection of The City as a whole, the city he loves. [/QUOTE] I wouldn’t say he loves the city, that sounds so … emotional. It’s more like he wanted to remedy the untidiness, unsightliness and inefficiency of the city. It is rather easy to commit suicide by Ankh-Morpork standards, like not handing over your money to an armed thief, unlicensed or not. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681/26 "2007-06-21T12:41:18Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I’m predicting the start of the Ankh-Morpork Underground. Mornington Crescent station, next stop! [/QUOTE] :smack: You’re offside. The first move has to be a transverse. :rolleyes: What are they teaching the kids these days? ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681/27 "2007-06-21T13:06:30Z")
[QUOTE=PerditaX] It would appear, from the events in **Jingo** and **Going Postal** that Ankh-Morpork “law,” or at least Lord Vetinari’s interpretation of same, has one goal only: the protection of The City as a whole, the city he loves. Common street crime is a nuisance, but doesn’t affect the mechanism of the city. The trumped-up war with Klatch, the corruption of the Grand Trunk - those are full-scale threats. In other words, he sees “white collar” crime as much more serious than the normal thieves-assassins-street gangs kind. I think that’s one reason he allowed the **Times** (_“The Truth shall make ye Fret”_) to stay in operation: it’s better able to ferret out those kind of things than official investigations are. [/QUOTE] I’d tend to agree with this analysis. IIRC, the reason why in Going Postal Moist was going to hang at the beginning of the book was precisely because he’d been engaging in serious white collar crime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-ankh-morpork-law/408681.md?page=1)