142 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL
These prescriptions are due to the fact that on the
average a certain degree of solidarity, tone, force, or tendency
 will appear only with a certain group size. If these
characteristics are desired, that size is prescribed as a minimum;
 if they are to be avoided, then that size is allowed as
a maximum. In reality, no two groups of the same size
will be identical in character, owing to the difference in individual
 elements. But legal regulations cannot make exceptions
 for individual variations. They must fix numerical
 magnitudes which conform to averages. Hence the minimum
 and maximum regulations for associations are expressions
 of average conditions, in the same way as the
minimum age for suffrage is an expression of average conditions
 as independent of the relative maturity of a specific
individual. But as expressions of average conditions they
express correlations between specific characteristics and
the size of the group. History is full of such regulations.
Among regulations with regard to the maximum can be
mentioned the limitation of street gatherings, of public
meetings, and of religious revivals.
Among regulations with regard to a minimum are the
stipulation of the smallest membership giving right to incorporation
 and the stipulation of the minimum number of
judges or jurors required to pass a valid judgment. In the
first instance, the minimum is required to guarantee a sufficient
 solidarity, without which corporations might be a
danger to the public economy. In the second case, the
minimum requirement aims at obtaining a number large
enough to allow for a counterbalancing of mistakes and
prejudices so that the collective opinion may be the true
one. Where the law stipulates a minimum, it expresses a
distrust in isolated individual action and a faith in collective
 action. Where it stipulates a maximum, it expresses,