Chesterton’s Fence
“There exists … a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, ‘I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.’ To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: ‘If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.’”
Written by G.K Chesterton
English writer, philosopher, and theologian, in 1929.He also wrote the Father Brown Stories (all 53!)
Discussion
Chesterton wasn’t just talking about literal fences—he was critiquing reckless social or political reform. His point was that traditions and institutions, even if they seem outdated, often exist for a reason that may not be obvious at first glance.
The model was later popularized by thinkers like:
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb (in Antifragile)
- Charlie Munger (in decision-making and investing)
- Various systems thinkers and policy analysts who use it as a caution against tampering with complex systems without understanding them.
Evolution of the Model
1929
G.K. Chesterton coins the metaphor
- In “The Thing: Why I Am a Catholic”, Chesterton warns reformers:“Do not remove a fence until you know why it was put up.”
- Intended as a critique of reckless reform in politics, religion, and culture.
1970s–1990s
Systems thinkers start to take notice
- The quote begins surfacing in urban planning, law, and public policy as an example of path dependency and institutional memory.
- Used to defend due diligence before changing legacy rules or structures.
1990s–2000s
Enter economics & behavioral strategy
- Economists use the idea to explain unintended consequences.
- Investors like Warren Buffett and thinkers like Charlie Munger apply it to business moat protection and understanding why a rule exists before discarding it.
2010s–Present
Rises as a core mental model
- Popularized by thinkers like:
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Antifragile)
- Shane Parrish (Farnam Street)
- Naval Ravikant, strategy coaches, and policy analysts
- Taught in startup accelerators, business schools, and even product design as a way to avoid breaking something you don’t fully understand.
🎯 Used Today In:
- 🏛️ Policy-making: Preserving regulatory structures that appear outdated
- 🧪 Product & UX Design: Avoiding the removal of “friction” that was actually protecting the user
- 📊 Investment: Understanding why a business has operational or capital constraints
- 🏗️ Engineering & Infrastructure: Legacy systems often serve hidden roles
- 🧬 Organizational Change: Institutional knowledge that prevents repeat mistakes
🧵 Summary:
Chesterton’s Fence reminds us to respect the complexity of systems.
Before “optimizing” always ask:
“What problem was this originally solving?”
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Personally I find his writing style vivid and poetic, in both his fiction and non-fiction.
I discovered this quote from Chesterton when I was researching consequences-unintended, first , second and third order. There is a discussion of this here Consequences