Now, a test for you. What is the solution to child abuse? Hint; it's to do with welfare payments.
First, if I may, what fraction of child abuse is attributable to welfare payments, in your humble opinion?
How on Earth could you get from what I've written that the state shouldn't protect people and their property?
You stated that governments do everything poorly, so I can only assume, in your opinion, that if the government intervenes to remove a child from an abusive parent, it is by definition, doing something poorly. Or am I miss-reading your sentiment?
That's the trouble with you lefties. No imagination. Always hiding in and bludging off the creative and productive.
Well, I once or twice have proposed on SI that we do away with regulation, and instead fully monetize all aspects of life. I did this specifically since I see it as a way to deal with Libertarians, who preach rights and responsibilities, but as near as I can tell, are much more into "their rights" and "others responsibilities". In a fully monetized economy, every transaction would be tracked, and the distant consequences of same would accrue to the account of each individual, and their heirs. The accounting is trivially cheap giving computers and storage media, so that objection is not valid (although some Libertarian SI'ers were sure it was insurmountable!) Just imagine. No regulations! Complete freedom, with every action having only economic consequences, as determined by a free marketplace. No more political wrangling about nuclear energy, or global warming. Place your bets, and let the future decide your fate (or your heirs fate if it takes that long). Only problem is, I also eliminate the prejudice against negative numbers in ones economic legacy, a much greater distortion of the fabric of economic space than is your much smaller issue of welfare for children. Chew on that for a while, oh imaginative one!
Final test. How do you stop cruelty and murder of infants?
The only way I can conceive of is through intrusive oversight, which is contrary to Libertarian principles. So a) develop cheap and reliable birth control, and force everyone to be on it, unless they demonstrate by a suitable margin of comfort, that they will make safe and good parents and b) once they are parents, hang video cameras around their necks and record 100% of their interactions with their kids. If you really want to be safe, you will need a robot minder within speedy reach of said child, just in case the parents go wacko on short notice.
Most people would not like the above scheme, but it could be quite reliable. It will of the side affect of denying some people the 'right' to reproduce, since we must have some margin of error, but to bad. One must accept such if one is after 99+% reliable solutions. |
