Gourt > Society > Issues > Government Operations > Anti Metrication
The introduction of the metric system has faced popular opposition in a number of countries over the past two hundred years. Opponents generally cite apparent flaws in the metric system itself and cultural reasons for resisting change. Today, only the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Liberia and MyanmarAccording to an old U.S. Metric Association survey, neither Liberia nor Myanmar had officially adopted the metric system or enacted a policy to switch to the metric system in the future. Inquiries by the USMA have led to no response from the countries about use of the metric system since the survey. See here for more information. Continued use of non-metric units in the United States and the United Kingdom is well-established. continue to use their traditional measurement systems to any great extent, although many countries still retain some non-metric units.
Some arguments of the anti-metrication movement
Natural evolution and human scale
One argument used by opponents of the metric system is that traditional systems of measurement were developed organically from actual use. Early measures were human in scale. In English, traditional expressions such as a stone's throw, within earshot, a cartload or a handful disclose the internal logic of traditional measurements. These measures were often relational and commensurable: a request for a judgment of measure allowed for a variety of answers, depending on the context of the request. In parts of Malaysia, villagers asked the distance to the next village were likely to respond with "three rice cookings"; an approximation of the time it would take to travel there on foot. Everyone is assumed to know how long to cook rice. Named units referring to seeming standards also were contextualized. The aune, a French ell used for measuring cloth, depended on the sort of cloth you were measuring, taking price and scarcity into account; an aune of silk was shorter than an aune of linen.Scott, James C. Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, p. 25. (Yale University Press, 1998) ISBN 0300070160 More on [ Anti-metrication ]
Units of Measurement :: Reference
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British Weights and Measures Association (BWMA) - Group which lobbies and promotes English/imperial weights and measures, and opposes compulsory conversion to the metric system. Includes news, position papers about the history of metrication and its impact on consumers and merchants, discussion forum, and related links.
Meta Description: [ BWMA exists to protect and promote customary UK/imperial weights and measures, and to oppose compulsory conversion to the metric system. ]
British Weights and Measures Association: Footrule - Provides general articles, membership information, sponsors, and newsletter archives of the BWMA.
English Weights and Measures - History, current usage, and listing of units and conversions; comparison of English and American measurements; descriptions of collectible weights; external links and anti-metrication resources.
Meta Description: [ English weights & measures: History, Current usage etc. ]
Freedom 2 Measure - Criticizes metrication as globalist and un-American; provides arguments for the superiority of the English-American system over the metric and links to related sites.
Inch Perfect - An assortment of articles asserting the superiority of British weights and measures to the French decimal system, including nineteenth century sources.
Meta Description: [ A summary of traditional weights and measures demonstrating their superiority over the French decimal system (commonly known as the metric system) plus links to other pages in a similar vein. ]
Ockham's Razor: Trouble with the Metric System - An interview with University of Queensland professor Arthur Marcel on the advantages of the imperial method of measurement over the metric, and on the failures of the metric system in Australia.
Meta Description: [ Advantages of the imperial method of measurement compared with the metric method ]
Presidential campaign could use some anti-metric mania - Column by neoconservative columnist Jonah Goldberg on Tesco's decision to restore imperial weights and measures, and on metrication as an ideological tool of the EU and WTO.
Salish Indians Against the Metric System (SIAMS) - Criticizes Canada's imposition of metric measurements on its aboriginal peoples.
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Sunderland Metric Martyrs - Defense fund for Steve Thoburn and Neil Herron, who were prosecuted under British law for using imperial measurements. Provides background, related cases, and links.
Meta Description: [ The Metric Martyrs Defence Fund. The story and support site for Steve Thoburn,Neil Herron and ALL other cases - The Metric Martyrs ]
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