PCI Compliance - The Good, The Bad, and The Insecure

Can someone please explain me, who gave the company behind the PCI "licensing business model" the right to enforce their power? Heck they even do it internationally, no? How is that possible? How can I do the same, for say "alcohol safety", just as an example?

I have worked in a few occasions where companies failed to provide PCI compliance and still got licensed. In one company I helped to circumvent the need for compliance by outsourcing the payment processing.