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Old 12-30-2007, 12:46 AM
 
Location: Earth
24,620 posts, read 28,219,543 times
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All I can say is that I'd prefer that you keep your laws off of my body.
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Old 12-30-2007, 07:03 AM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,406,452 times
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Laws tend to promote that which favors efficient social and economic commerce and to inhibit that which frustrates efficient social and economic commerce. Mores to some degree and morals to a typically far larger degree tend to frustrate social and economic efficiency. People should be led to not making very many such laws on these accounts, but sometimes they are not...
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Old 12-30-2007, 05:16 PM
 
Location: outer boroughs, NYC
904 posts, read 2,866,470 times
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The government should not legislate based upon morality alone. Often times, the law and morality will overlap, but not always.

Rather, the role of government is to prevent chaos. All laws ought to be derived from that. Why is murder, rape and burglary illegal? Because if those things were allowed, there would be chaos and society would collapse. This even applies to more mundane things, like traffic laws. If everyone were allowed to drive however they wanted, many of us would be, well, dead.

Conversely, this is why most (though perhaps not all) drugs should be legal or at least decriminalized. It's also why abortion should be allowed. Even if abortion is murder (a contentious issue, obviously, over which reasonable people may disagree), it's clearly not creating social disorder. So it ought to be allowed.

Please note that by social disorder I do not mean protests or political disagreements. I mean out-and-out anarchy, every man for himself. This is what government was created to prevent. The challenge is to maximize liberty while minimizing social disorder.

However, this is an abstract principle. Legally speaking you can legislate morality in certain forms, if you follow the Constitution. For example, I think abortion should be left up to the states. If Alabama or Texas want to ban it, that's their prerogative, even though I may disagree with it. The same could be said for certain kinds of drug and gun laws, though obviously the 2nd Amendment and the Interstate Commerce clause give the federal government wider jurisdiction in those areas.

Oh, and the Cuban embargo should be lifted. Why hasn't it been? Twenty-five electoral votes, that's why.

Last edited by neonwattagelimit; 12-30-2007 at 05:42 PM..
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Old 12-30-2007, 08:55 PM
 
4,410 posts, read 6,126,068 times
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Very few laws are based on morality. The majority are based on the premise that capitalism can exploit resources without any morals at all.

I see morality as an attempt to arrive at a consensus. It is, therefore, not absolute. Since we appear to be facing a period of rapid change, laws will not be able to adapt to each newly formed consensus. Additionally, a consensus is much more difficult to ascertain nowadays. The interval between new information/experience and its assimilation into wisdom is too short.

I can see where the near future is riddled with deep divisions over what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'. These divisions will cause a collapse that will require a new system to be developed. Most will choose to recreate the past--a foolish path for one cannot unlearn their experiences. The only option is to redefine on a most basic and personal level what is right and what is wrong and, more importantly, to determine how far those polarities extend into society. Do they remain at the personal level or do they get universally applied?

I think this is a big issue and it will require some collective introspection on a level we've not yet experienced in human history.
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Old 12-30-2007, 11:36 PM
 
Location: Boise
4,426 posts, read 5,906,147 times
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here's how i see it, morals have always been subjected to society in the form of acceptance or disassociation... in the past most people were religious therefore adhering to such strick social norms. Today, societal norms have drifted away from its religious standards, due to lack of people being religious. So in order to hold onto this influence and power, religious institutions have taken on a battle to wage a social war by means of our constitution, when it is neither their place, nor their responsibility... Anytime in history when someone attains power and influence they will do anything an everything to retain it... It has nothing to do with morals, but influence and power, and their little busy bee's who are believers are under a false impression of why they are waging the battle.. it is no different today than in any other time in history.. to those who acknowlege it.. its quite sickening....
lets hope our offspring aren't learning about another "dark time" in history for "the church" giving cause for another one of many things to offer an apology about later....
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Old 04-24-2009, 10:24 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,006 times
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i am doing an assignement on morals and the law and quite frankley i am at a stop i am unsure how to answer my questions as i have to say where they overlap and where they do not??? any help please
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Old 04-24-2009, 10:30 PM
 
654 posts, read 464,642 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andipandi84 View Post
i am doing an assignement on morals and the law and quite frankley i am at a stop i am unsure how to answer my questions as i have to say where they overlap and where they do not??? any help please
Read The Law--by Bastiat

http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html
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Old 04-24-2009, 11:50 PM
 
Location: Texas
14,975 posts, read 16,415,049 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andipandi84 View Post
i am doing an assignement on morals and the law and quite frankley i am at a stop i am unsure how to answer my questions as i have to say where they overlap and where they do not??? any help please
They overlap in many places. Those who suggest that morality should not be a part of the law fail to see reality - we all have our own sets of morals and personal standards for behavior and a collective set of morals and standards for behavior will always be a part of the law.

Overlap - murder, rape, assault, theft, etc. but also things like gay marriage being illegal, polygamy, incest, prostitution laws, etc.

Non-overlap - lying is generally not a crime (unless you are under oath in a court of law, asked to sign a statement under penalty of perjury, etc.), blasphemy is not a crime, adultery is not a crime, etc.
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Old 04-24-2009, 11:56 PM
 
Location: Irvine, CA to Keller, TX
4,829 posts, read 6,914,484 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eastern Roamer View Post
Most people agree on things at a moral level. Abortion is bad, horrible criminals should be put to death, guns should be controled, for example. Guys like Saddam Hussein are bad to their people, is that enough to invade their countries if they're not a threat?
What personal morals should be laws and what should legally optional for individuals to decide?
What foreign policies should reflect our morals?

And why can we not get Cuban cigars or anything else from there while everything we buy comes from China?
Moral relativism will be the downfall of our society.
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