Among Michael Sandel’s many
arguments about justice, he expresses his views from a libertarian perspective.
In Chapter 3 of his book, Justice: What’s
the Right Thing to do? he points out that as humans with natural rights,
people should have the liberty to do what they please with their bodies.
Because one owns oneself, he or she is entitled to market oneself, placing
whatever value he or she deems fit.
In class, we discussed the issue of
prostitution as an occupation. Dr. Johnson posed the question: Is it unjust for
the government to decide that women cannot sell sex for a profit? My answer to
the question is yes. In numerous countries around the world, prostitution is a
legitimate career. Of course like any other business, there are policies in
place to prevent issues such as sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted
pregnancy. In fact, I would like to argue that by restricting prostitution to
unlawful practices, the government is causing harm to society. The banning of
sex as a service has not eliminated the practice. Instead, women who are
selling themselves in addition to those willing to pay submit to an
underground, “black market” business. In these businesses, legislators cannot
intervene by creating regulations to create a safe exchange for both the buyer
and seller. Since it is illegal, those willing to break the law, pimps for a
lack of a better title, have the opportunity to run an operation that leads to
other forms of criminal activity. Society cannot benefit from tax revenue and
young women are subjected to exploitation. Similar to the drug trade,
prostitution rings commonly use violent methods for running their organization.
In addition, libertarians would
approve of legalizing prostitution based off the fact the women are their own
rulers. If women cannot determine the job they wish to pursue then who can?
Surely there can be no adequate defense for a government that wishes to assign
jobs to its citizens. Would this not be a form of slavery as we mentioned in
class?
Thus, I am wondering if the only
reason that Americans have not permitted prostitution as a profession is one of
moral opinion? Libertarians like Nozick would surely be angered by the fact the
freedoms are being infringed upon. Are there rational reasons for why we still
outlaw prostitution? Certain states are beginning to legalize recreational
drugs, why can’t Americans vote to create another job? Is that not a major
issue within the economic sphere?
I agree with you on the bases of libertarian logic that women should be the governors of their own body. However, the business of prostitution and human trafficking or so closely related, it makes it difficult to determine if there is consent of the women. Even, if it does become legalized and regulations are set in place to defer this action, there are still areas that could be exploited. The legalization could give more power to pimps and lead to more back alley violence. Also, a point raised from Slate Magazine, “There's a big difference between a street worker controlled by a pimp and a high-end call girl who picks her own clients, and the real question is how to increase poor women's access to decent and safe work in general.”
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stanton's comment. Like you and him both have said, according to the libertarian logic, prostitution is a decision a woman should be able to go in to or not without the intervention of the government. The government's laws preventing these practices limits the control a woman has over her own body. But you ask if there is a rational reason for why we still outlaw prostitution. I argue that the rational reasoning behind outlawing this practice, like Stanton touched on, is that it is difficult to discern whether or not a woman is freely entering into this line of work. If she is of sound mind and body, is not being coerced by the promise of money that she desperately needs, and is able to make a clear and rational decision for herself, then the act of prostitution is not as grand of an issue. But we can all agree that many prostitutes do not display these three criteria. Though the line of work might be seen as something beneficial to be included in the free market, it is most often a line of work that women do not "freely" enter into with sound intentions.
ReplyDeleteI agree that prostitution, according to the libertarian logic, should be legal. I think that Stanton and Carrie bring up an important flaw regarding legalizing prostitution, which is the issue as to whether or not the woman is freely entering into the practice. However, it can certainly be said that even though prostitution is illegal now, the chances that all of the women entered into the practice freely is highly unlikely. Perhaps legalizing prostitution could make it safer, with legalization comes regulation, which could potentially make things not only safer but also better for the woman, however, it could also make things worse.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree on the idea of legalizing prostitution for so many different reasons. I think if we take a look at MMA fighting and consider how it is not only real, but it is flowering in the U.S.. If these men and women can go into the ring at inflict large amounts of bodily harm to each other,there are numerous detrimental cases of people being hurt cage fighting, then why should a less harmful thing be illegal? I think this is more of a moral thing than it is a real logical thing. We can't be able to physically abuse each other on national television and then not be allowed to do something far less severe simply for a safety purpose less severe.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason why there are so many crooks in the prostitution business is because it is illegal. I think if we actually legalized it and put boundaries as to what we can and can't do then people would realize that there is a huge profit and job surplus to be had in this business. Not only to libertarian principles, but to a smart economic principle I think this should be allowed to work.
I agree with Conor and Halle's point that legalizing prostitution would allow the government to pass regulations to ensure the women's safety and protection. If the government legalizes prostitution then it allows them to intervene so as to eliminate the crime and make it a legitimate career path for women. However, the question of legalizing on rational or moral terms is an interesting one to consider. As Americans, I think we're influenced to see prostitution as morally wrong and most wouldn't consider making it a legal career option for women simply based on moral grounds. However, one can make the comparison between legalizing prostitution so as to not infringe on a woman's right to make her own decisions with regards to her body and legalizing abortion. It may be a stretch, but if the argument behind keeping abortion legal is to maintain the right of women to own their bodies, then the same argument can be made for legalizing prostitution. Making either illegal isn't going to eliminate the practice entirely, it's just going to make it a more dangerous risk that women might have to take. So I see no real harm in legalizing the practice of prostitution because government regulation isn't going to make it any more dangerous, hopefully less so.
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