RE: Legislating Morality
July 20, 2010 at 8:13 pm
(This post was last modified: July 20, 2010 at 8:14 pm by Oldandeasilyconfused.)
Of course laws are often based on morality,which in turn is based on pragmatism. The law is primarily about maintaining order and the status quo,not justice.
Many laws are purely about the dominant power paradigm: EG Tax Law, conscription, intellectual property rights.
We can and do legislate morality all the time. However, laws only work if enough people agree with them or can't get away with breaking them.. Laws reflect social attitudes,they don't create them.Eg; tax evasion is a national sport in most countries,as is internet piracy, and who can forget the US disaster of prohibition. (18th Amendment) Drug laws are a political solution to medical and practical problems. Most of the problems would disappear with the legalisation of all illegal drugs.
It took a full generation in my country before drink driving became socially unacceptable. No fault divorce and our family law act reflected social values at the time. Gay marriage will be legalised when enough want it to be. I think within a decade here and I think that's encouraging. From homosexuality being illegal to legal gay marriage with in a 50 year period speaks well of the secularisation my country. Other good signs are our divorce laws,licensing laws and Sunday trading of all kinds*
*Until I was 18. Pubs closed here at 6 PM and were not open on Sunday. No restaurants or cinemas were open on Sunday,and no organised sport was allowed. All businesses closed at 11 AM Saturday and did not open again until Monday. I think milk was delivered on Sunday;our milkman had his own cows;our milk was raw and great. South Australia was known as "the wowser state''.
The rest of Australia still think Adelaide is the dark side of the moon. You can imagine what it was like here until about 1970.
Many laws are purely about the dominant power paradigm: EG Tax Law, conscription, intellectual property rights.
We can and do legislate morality all the time. However, laws only work if enough people agree with them or can't get away with breaking them.. Laws reflect social attitudes,they don't create them.Eg; tax evasion is a national sport in most countries,as is internet piracy, and who can forget the US disaster of prohibition. (18th Amendment) Drug laws are a political solution to medical and practical problems. Most of the problems would disappear with the legalisation of all illegal drugs.
It took a full generation in my country before drink driving became socially unacceptable. No fault divorce and our family law act reflected social values at the time. Gay marriage will be legalised when enough want it to be. I think within a decade here and I think that's encouraging. From homosexuality being illegal to legal gay marriage with in a 50 year period speaks well of the secularisation my country. Other good signs are our divorce laws,licensing laws and Sunday trading of all kinds*
*Until I was 18. Pubs closed here at 6 PM and were not open on Sunday. No restaurants or cinemas were open on Sunday,and no organised sport was allowed. All businesses closed at 11 AM Saturday and did not open again until Monday. I think milk was delivered on Sunday;our milkman had his own cows;our milk was raw and great. South Australia was known as "the wowser state''.
The rest of Australia still think Adelaide is the dark side of the moon. You can imagine what it was like here until about 1970.
