John,
Most individuals conclude that murder is bad, and to stop people from murdering we have - whether as individuals or a group is immaterial - created a government, passed laws against murder, and created systems to apprehend and punish murderers. We have, through the same process, created systems to prevent individuals from poisoning the air and water, clearcutting forests, etc. In both cases, individual profits are constrained - both murder and environmental destruction have been highly profitable enterprises in the past. Why is it that you consider the prevention of murder praiseworthy and the prevention of environmental destruction oppressive?
Not after they invented guns and other such weaponry.
The people doing the polluting - and infringing many other rights - generally have more money, and thus more guns. If an individual who believes that a chemical factory is polluting his water takes a rifle from his cabinet and opens fire, he goes to jail, or gets shot. If he persuades other people that his grievance is legitimate, obtains proof, and petitions for redress, he sometimes gets it. Either way, the settlement of disputes through the use of personal armament is more than a bit out of fashion. We - as a group - have found fairer, if still imperfect, ways to do it.
Steve |
