Friday 20 June 2014

The Pope Is No Dope

The Holy Father's denunciation of schemes for the legalisation of drugs is even more powerful when one considers the propagation in the West of the self-serving claim that such an approach would benefit Latin America.

There cannot be a "free" market in general but not in drugs, prostitution, pornography, unrestricted alcohol or unrestricted gambling.

Therefore, there cannot be a "free" market in general.

In the same way, there cannot be the unrestricted movement of goods, services or capital but not of people. Or vice versa.

Public services and employment rights, which are moral goods in themselves and which the State is morally obliged to protect, cannot be guaranteed without restrictions on the movement of people.

Therefore, there cannot be the unrestricted movement of goods, services or capital.

The State is a moral agent and a moral agency. That is why we have it. That is why we are, in both senses, bound to have it. That is what it is for.

That it sometimes does bad things no more negates or disproves its moral status than that people sometimes do bad things negates or disproves the moral status of people.

3 comments:

  1. "The State is a moral agent and a moral agency" The truth is more or less precisely the opposite.

    Have you noticed what the state has done to our greatest schools, our borders, our police, our institution of marriage and just about everything else it has touched for the last 50 years?

    I mean what planet have you been living on?

    Give us a break!

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  2. You din't read to the last paragraph, then.

    This site isn't really pitched at you. You would be happier on popbitch.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is he the "Bible student" you have just told twice on Twitter was "philosophically and theologically out of his depth"?

    They are not called the Stupid Party for nothing.

    ReplyDelete