Because The Giver is an anti-utopian novel, rules and orders are negatively portrayed. They are used to take away freedom, choice, and individuality. The citizens of the novel's overly-controlled "community" aren't even aware that they've lost their freedom. To them, the rules are a good thing; they make life easy, predictable, and manageable. It is this lack of free will that readers tend to find the most terrifying about rules and order in The Giver.