[...]
in that case you're going to have to legislate to remove all possible
self-imposed risk from the world. You're going to have to make smoking
illegal, you're going to have to make sunbathing for longer than 30
minutes a day illegal, crossing the road while the green man is
flashing, walking the streets without wearing a helmet,...
B
Bob, it is not black/white scenario like you seem to be trying to paint
it. I am thinking that "self-imposed" is the keyword here. If a state can
protect you from somebody *else's* stupidity (because, pardon my
bluntness, you're not omniscient or omnipotent) and do so for $10 per car
or $10 per motorcycle, they might as well go on and do it.
yes, sure, but that's changing the terms of the discussion. So far the
discussion has been about whether the state has a right to force the
individual to something 'for his own good'. I say it doesn't.
Now, the classic starting point for liberalism is that you are free to do
whatever you want, provided you don't infringe the right of other people to
do the same. The state is an institution that we have established to
guarantee that principle. Therefore it does have to try and protect me from
other people's stupidity in as much as that stupidity might prevent me from
going about my lawful business. That's why we enforce red traffic lights,
and have gun laws and such like. At the same time, it doesn't absolve me
from the responsibility to look after myself.
Children are also protected by the state but they are in a special position
because unlike normal adults they are not fully autonomous members of
society yet. They are under the stewardship of their parents and their
parents have the first responsibility for their well-being. The parents have
to make the minute-by-minute decisions about what is best for the child,
including whether or not it is safe to leave them in the back of a car. Once
you start leaving that sort of decision to other people, particularly the
state, you might just as well herd all the kids into state-run boarding
schools where they will, no doubt, be much safer...
Bob
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