Many people view preparing drawings and getting permits as an unnecessary burden imposed in an authoritarian manner. Everyone involved in the construction industry has heard horror stories of overzealous inspectors that simply can't be pleased. I am asked regularly by clients to commiserate on the needless headaches inspired by the permitting and inspection process.
In select cases, I agree. Sometimes I see people put through the wringer over a relatively minor issue. However, for the most part I understand that building codes, permitting, and inspections serve a vital and important purpose. Most people actually do have problems judging for themselves what is safe and what is not, and reaching beyond one's level of expertise can have fatal consequences. Perhaps someone who leans towards an individualist philosophy could make a case that we should all have the right to be as unsafe as we see fit. The problem comes in when one person's unsafe actions begin to impact the rest of us.
Building codes are not just designed to protect unsafe people from themselves but also to protect the general public: fire fighters, future occupants, next door neighbors . Those people, who don't have any control over someone else's building, can be killed in a fire or structural collapse they had nothing to do with - building codes aim to protect them. Cities are better off as a whole when we can expect that ALL of our buildings meet certain safety requirements.
Here is the extreme case: I have been in a house with an illegal basement "bedroom" that was wired with extension cords spliced together. Not only was the "wiring" exposed, incorrectly sized, and certainly drawing more power than allowed, but adequate exits did not exist. In the case of a fire, the young child that had obviously lived down there would most likely have been toast.
That's a far cry from installing a new outlet, but I would rather fall on the side of safety.