Two recent sad results:
1. Freelancers want to work for companies, but government says No.
2. Women want a women-only club, but government says No.
The right to free association has both a positive and a negative application. The positive right is to associate with whom you choose. The negative is not to associate with whom you choose.
In the one case, bureaucrats wanted to bash Uber and Lyft and magically to mandate higher wages and benefits. And that overrode both their ability to grasp (a) the entirely obvious economic consequences and (b) their respect for freedom of association.
In the other case, bureaucrats started by wanting to ban men-only associations. And that overrode both (a) their ability to grasp the entirely obvious legal consequences and (b) their respect for freedom of association.
What we end up with is politicians deciding whom we’re allowed to associate with rather than individuals being able to choose for themselves.