Things I've Said

Category: Social Issues

  • Why Christians Should Be Against Drug Prohibition

    I don’t use illegal drugs, nor do I promote their use.  But I am very much against the prohibition of drugs.  There are many reasons for this but this short article will address two reasons that I think Christians in particular should be against drug prohibition.

    The first reason applies to naturally occurring drugs, such as marijuana:

    Genesis 1:11-12
    And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    It is one thing to disapprove of the use of marijuana as an intoxicant, it is quite another thing to make the plant illegal to grow or possess.  The plant is good, and has many practical uses. If God thinks it’s good, that should be enough reason for Christians to believe that it is good.

    Next, free will:

    Genesis 2:16-17
    And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

    Most Christians believe that God gave us the ability to choose between good an evil because He wanted to man to love Him.  He put man in the Garden of Eden, put a tree in the garden, and told man not to eat from it.  Without that tree, there was no free will.  Without free will, we could not be moral agents – we could be neither bad nor good.  And without free will we could we love God.

    How can man be greater than God?  If God allows people to be free to choose between right and wrong, surely it is not man’s place to try to take away that freedom.

    The laws of man should punish man for interfering with the rights of others, but not prevent a man from making bad choices.

  • Why Conservatives Should Support Labor Unions

    Why should conservatives support labor unions?  Because they are a natural product of the free market.  Because they are the expression of free people.  Because they are, in fact, a business like any other.

    In a free country, I use my resources in whatever way seems most fitting to me.  That’s a pretty basic tenet of conservative ideology.  For $100, I can buy this quadcopter drone for $49.99, or this quadcopter drone for $4,399.00.  It is entirely my right to decide which product and which vendor best suits my needs.

    Labor is a product.  If I wish to purchase 8 hours of labor, I have to find out what the price is.  If one laborer tells me that he wants $100, and another laborer tells me he wants $140, why should I not be able to choose which product and which vendor I prefer?

    Now imagine that you own a house.  You estimate the value at $3.2 million.  You hire an agent who specializes in high-end housing deals.  The agent lists the house at $3.9 million, and sells it for $3.6 million.  Have you done anything wrong by using a third party to get the best possible deal?  Of course not.

    If I am selling labor, rather than a house, why is it any different for me to hire an agent to get the best possible deal?  I may be a great machinist, or a great plumber, but I may not be a great negotiator.  So why shouldn’t I hire a negotiator to get me the best possible price for the commodity I am offering?

    That’s what a labor union is – a hired agent to get the best possible deal for the purveyor of labor.

    If conservatives want to be philosophically consistent, they must either support labor unions, or admit that liberty is not part of the conservative message.

  • Capitalism is the Only Moral Path to Prosperity

    If you have a bakery, chances are you have a lot of doughnuts that you don’t want all that much.  If I have a job, chances are equally good that I have at least a few dollars I don’t want all that much.  I would be happy to trade you one of my dollars for two of your doughnuts.  Deal?

    Capitalism allows people to trade away things that they don’t want in return for something that they do want, or to trade off their excess for something that they lack.

    There are additional benefits to capitalism that are less obvious, but that distinguish it from other economic systems: Capitalism discourages laziness, while encouraging generosity, kindness, and progress in all things that make humans happy and comfortable.

    All those benefits are probably the opposite of what you’ve been told, and even counter-intuitive at first pass.  How can capitalism discourage vices and encourage virtues?

    Capitalism encourages you to trade with other people for mutual benefit, just like the doughnuts.  I gave up a dollar, and you gave up a doughnut.  We both end up happier at the end of that transaction.

    But in order to get that dollar, I had to do work.  I traded my time and labor in return for money.  My employer pays me $80/day to fix bicycles.  At the end of each day, I have $80 more than I started the day with.  My employer was able to spend his time selling new bicycles while I was doing repairs, so he was happy to pay me.  Meanwhile, we’ve made our customers happy by fixing their bikes.

    Do you suppose I would have spent my day fixing bicycles if I didn’t get paid for it?  Not likely.  Capitalism discouraged my laziness.  And it didn’t just discourage laziness and get me to go do something for my own pleasure.  Instead, it encouraged me to provide a product or service that makes other people happy.  And in the morning, I can buy two more doughnuts from the baker, the baker can get his bicycle fixed, and we’ll all be happy.

    Capitalism encourages us to do work that enriches the lives of others by providing food, housing, automobiles, entertainment, etc.  The more we enrich others, the more we enrich ourselves.  In an ideal capitalist setting, it would be impossible to get rich without making those around you a bit richer, too.  Even in the absence of an ideal setting, capitalism is the best system for turning our vices into virtues.