Yes but it's also to make sure you know what you're doing, both in a technical and procedural way. The point of a ham license is not to buy a $50 baofeng from AliExpress and chat. We all do that but it's more a way to talk about the actual hobby. But the point of the license is to build radios yourself, experiment with new modes, be on the bleeding edge. Obviously you need to know what you're doing in order to not cause interference.

If you just want to chat and/or have emergency comms for hiking, just buy a GMRS or InReach, PLB etc. Ham radio is really about having radio as a hobby and technical interest.

PS: I'm not one of the ham elitists and I like the availability of easily accessible licences for starters like the novice one. But it's important to realize what it's all about. If you're not into that you will find the chat on the bands very boring.

I'm a hiker and a ham and I carry both my ham radio and an InReach. Only the latter I really consider my emergency comms. The radio is more for fun. Nobody monitors the ham frequencies professionally unlike InReach which is backed by the GEOS emergency center. A PLB is arguably even better but I don't go into situations where I'd really need it and I like the way the InReach lets me message my family too. I don't consider a ham radio a tool for personal emergencies.

For major emergencies it's a different thing, when there's a disaster all the ARES guys will break out their kit and will provide what I'm sure will be an amazing network. But don't rely on someone listening when you're alone in the hills.

Back before widespread adoption of the internet espionage was a real concern for radio. In fact, amateur radio across the board was suspended during WWII. But this is not really the case now. These days it's more about preventing interference with aviation, maritime, and other bands.

Realistically, people buy Baofengs [1] and transmit on GMRS frequencies while paintballing or airsoft all the time and nobody gives a crap. When they do it on amateur frequencies, hams will demand their callsign complain. I swear, there's at least a half dozen people staring at their spectrum analyzers all day.

1. A popular, cheap VHF/UHF radio: https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-Dual-Radio-Black/dp/B00...

Partly yeah, radio spectrum is a limited resource. All users of radio spectrum have to work within agreed-upon limitations. Further, radios can be dangerous. Someone operating radio transmission equipment could harm others or themselves if the equipment is not being used properly. There are many regulations around the usage of radios and "proving" one is sufficiently aware of these regulations is also part of the reason behind requiring a license. In Canada we don't call it a license, it's merely a certificate of proficiency, to indicate your capabilities/knowledge in respect to the amateur radio regulations.

Primarily, yes. There are international treaties regarding power, frequency, and transmissions that make sure you're not stomping on people. Each of the countries involved wants to make sure the operators know and understand what is expected.

Basically, yes. The test filters out at least a subset of users who are not interested in the tech side.

You can get a gmrs license without a test and those frequencies tend to have less decorum as a result.

Same reason you need a driver's license to drive a car.