The Mugwumpery

Prostitution is the libertarian model for love. It’s transactional, and as a single category of behavior it obfuscates enormous differences in the power dynamics that define each case, such that trafficking or survival sex becomes grouped under the same label as call girls and others who have no plausible coercion to work.

We can focus on power dynamics, or we can focus on consenting adults making the best choices they can for themselves under the circumstances. I don’t think we can do both. Preventing transactions driven by power dynamics inevitably also prevents people from doing what they think is best for themselves. What most people call “freedom”.

Being able to do only things that society approves as proper is conformism. It’s fundamentally opposed to the idea of human rights – rights that allow people to make their own choices, despite the disapproval of society.

Sure. Let’s follow that to it’s conclusion and allow child labor, pederasty, remove paternalism towards people with severe cognitive disabilities and let them fend for themselves, abolish laws requiring the use of translators in contracts between people who speak different languages since different levels of access to information are just part of the natural world and have to be accepted for the sake of freedom. Let’s stop trying to prevent old people from being scammed. In fact, the concept of a scam should be abolished as it’s too subjective; where is the line between a legitimate and illegitimate difference in knowledge?

I did say “adults” up there, didn’t I? I favor strong (much stronger than current) enforcement of common law fraud and legal penalties for deception of all kinds. Even legal requirements to inform people.

But requirements for honesty and information isn’t the same as prohibiting informed adults from doing what they choose to do (that doesn’t directly harm 3rd parties).

We’re not going to agree, I suspect. I’m just saying you can either prohibit transactions society doesn’t like, or you can let people make the core decisions about their own lives. You can’t do both.

I have heard what you said and would need to see substantially more evidence to make a determination about it.