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"has never worked"? Sounds like you're setting a hard metric. I'm pretty sure that changing laws does have some influence on the social norms and culture arou
by nfoz 9y ago
"has never worked"? Sounds like you're setting a hard metric. I'm pretty sure that changing laws does have some influence on the social norms and culture around some of these items, and their level of consumption. The propents of some of these rules might call it a success even if it just changes behaviours or attitudes about them.
- skookumchuck 9y agoFeel free to post an example of any society, now or historical, that has managed to suppress any of these activities into inconsequence by making them illegal.
- nfoz 9y agoBut why is "suppress into inconsequence" the appropriate metric? Murder is illegal but isn't "suppressed into inconsequence" by the law.
- dwaltrip 9y agoAre you kidding me? Almost all of those activities are restricted to significant, meaningful degrees in the U.S. Or have been in the past (e.g. homosexuality). I think only adultery stands out as not. Regulation doesn't need to "suppress an activity into inconsequence" to be useful. There are many ways regulation can beneficially impact activity in between the extremes. The vast majority of regulation does this. The extreme of "completely abolish an activity" isn't a practical or useful goal in most cases.
- lancewiggs 9y agoJust because you couldn’t see an activity doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening in a vibrant sub-culture.