Chesterton’s Fence is a thought experiment:

There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”

We can look at another example; the evolution of life. We know better than to cut off the peacock’s tail because it is effectively useless. We respect the process which created it; the invisible designer; recognising that it likely has a point.

A more frequent occurrence is the instinct of a newly hired CFO in a growing company to begin by cutting “pointless” expenditures. Employees then leave, seeing that the culture has changed. These obvious cost-cutting measures turn out to be more expensive in the long run because nobody stopped to appreciate the costs were there.