law-4
Explanation
This comic explores the philosophical observation that laws are, at their core, just formalized rules for human behavior -- and that most human activities throughout history have not required formal legislation.
In the first panel, a character asks whether there is a unified definition of "law." Another character responds that most actions people take don't require a law: nobody has to vote on whether you can eat pancakes or go for a walk. She points out that laws tend to emerge around the relatively narrow set of situations where humans come into conflict -- things like "chewing rocks or sticking food in your nose" don't need governing.
The punchline comes in two beats. First, the character observes that laws are essentially a "litany of human crimes" -- a catalog of all the terrible things people have done to each other. Then, in the final panel, a parent tells a child that if you look at any set of bylaws or rules, they "naturally begin with 'don't murder'" -- suggesting that the very first thing any society has to formalize is "please stop killing each other."
The humor lies in the deflating realization that the grand edifice of law and governance essentially boils down to humanity's long, embarrassing track record of misbehavior. It pokes fun at the idea that law is some lofty intellectual achievement, when really it is just a running list of things humans can't be trusted to avoid on their own.