Well, actually we've already been there, done that. At least, many countries have, at one time or another, by enacting sumptuary laws to regulate the perceived excesses and intemperance of their populations.
Throughout history, sumptuary laws have been enacted for various reasons: political, social, religious and economic. The laws were set up to prohibit excesses by the people of the times, to preserve class distinctions, to encourage local economic growth and to reinforce religious and political commitments.
Some of the earliest known sumptuary laws were enacted in ancient Greece, where the people of Sparta were not allowed to own silver or gold, according to encyclopedia.com.
Fast forward a few centuries to Reformation England, and sumptuary laws were still being created, if not enforced. At that time, lawmakers attempted to regulate, among other things, the number of dinner courses you were allowed to serve, depending on your guest list. Invite your local cardinal, for example, and you have to serve nine courses. The bishop, on the other hand, only rated seven courses. The Sumptuary Laws includes a few other interesting tidbits, including the fact that most of the laws regarding personal possessions were aimed at controlling the behavior of the lower and middle classes. Not much of a surprise, really, when you consider that most of the lawmakers of the time were from the upper classes.
And as finicky as those European laws may seem to us today, according to most sources Japan is widely credited as having had the most detailed sumptuary controls. In that country, the income-based laws regulated everything from the size of your house, to what kind of sandals you would be allowed to wear.
Sumptuary laws have been introduced in North America as well, with varying degrees of success. Laws based on economic protectionism seem to be more acceptable, for example, than laws promoting frugality as a moral issue. Even so, sumptuary law is still an attention-getter in legal circles. A couple of years ago for example, the United States Supreme Court upheld a jet ski ban in San Juan County. A dissenting opinion from one of the Justices compared the ban to the sumptuary laws of old.
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