Let's just do away with building codes and let builders wing it, shall we? I'm sure that all the upwardly mobile home buyers will appreciate that.
Prescriptive standards, methods, and processes matter enormously in this densely populated age. Leaving language to the wolves just because we can't collectively agree how to shepherd it is foolish. Ethics are prescriptive, too, and we're failing miserably at establishing universally accepted human rights (and responsibilities).