Philosophical Questions: Government
May. 2nd, 2026 12:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithPeople have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.
Should governments make laws to protect people from hurting themselves?
Laws should aim to prevent accidental harm, insofar as this does not cause undue burden or interference. So for instance, guardrails on roads prevent motorists from accidentally landing in a ditch.
Laws to ban products that cause harm may mean well, but have a wretched history and tend to do more harm than good; see Prohibition for an example.
Beyond that, what the owner of a body pleases to do with it is their business. Some people enjoy recreational pain. Some people like body modifications such as tattoos, which are often misclassified as a form of self-harm; and for that matter, so is masturbation. Some people find that various forms of self-harm are the only way to make their life bearable. Some vitally important things, such as pregnancy, often cause harm to the self. Laws are very clumsy things to introduce to very delicate situations, and routinely do more harm than good.
Should governments make laws to protect people from hurting themselves?
Laws should aim to prevent accidental harm, insofar as this does not cause undue burden or interference. So for instance, guardrails on roads prevent motorists from accidentally landing in a ditch.
Laws to ban products that cause harm may mean well, but have a wretched history and tend to do more harm than good; see Prohibition for an example.
Beyond that, what the owner of a body pleases to do with it is their business. Some people enjoy recreational pain. Some people like body modifications such as tattoos, which are often misclassified as a form of self-harm; and for that matter, so is masturbation. Some people find that various forms of self-harm are the only way to make their life bearable. Some vitally important things, such as pregnancy, often cause harm to the self. Laws are very clumsy things to introduce to very delicate situations, and routinely do more harm than good.
