Many countries prosecute attempted suicide, and yes family members are absolutely "victimized" by their loved ones' self-destruction. Of course the response of

Many countries prosecute attempted suicide, and yes family members are absolutely "victimized" by their loved ones' self-destruction. Of course the response of jailing suicidal people and drug users isn't helpful either, but now we're talking about a more interesting standard (whether punishment is helpful) than whether a victim exists. >using drugs of their own free will Some proponents of drug prohibition would argue that people (particularly teens) are not using drugs of their own free will, but exploited by dealers and peer groups. Others of a more liberal bent might argue that people don't use hard drugs of their own free will, but as a release from desperate circumstances - becoming a heroin addict is no more a "free" act than jumping from a burning building. >no one is entitled to other peoples money Says you. It's certainly not a property of the universe - just 400 years ago there'd have been no question that the lord of the manor owned all your labor, graciously giving you your daily bread out of Christian obligation. Every man for himself is a relatively recent development in human history. You may consider it progress. But a leftist wouldn't - he would say progress is the replacement of the lord of the manor by a democratic state, or the people as a whole, or something like that. Failure to help your fellow man obviously has victims - thousands of people die of circumstances that could have been alleviated by your money. As do taxes, as do environment regulations (some are spared cancer; some are out of a job; some are out a great deal of capital equipment). The question of politics is what distribution of harm is just. Incidentally, if you're ever tempted to shit on liberal arts majors... this is what they do all day. Philosophy is, in large part, working through very old and complex arguments on questions such as this. "What is justice?" is at least as old as Plato's Republic and the conversation continues for thousands of years.