The Black Market

What is the black market? Why does it exist? What makes it bad? Who is really to blame for the black market?

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Politics
• Black
• Market
• Trade
• Free
• Markets
• Libertarian
• Government
• Criminals
• Philosophy
• Abortion
• Health
• Care
• Second
• Amendment
• Firearms
• Guns
• Weapons
• Assault
• Automatic
• Ban

[SmokeRingsPipeDreams]

You are right about govt creating black markets by banning things people want and fell they have a right to, I would respecfully disagree that what makes black markets dangerous are the kind of people who frequent them. What makes black markets dangerous is that the dealers in such goods cannot go to the police and therefore have to be their own police and do violence to protect themselves from people ripping them off. Or in the case of abortion operate in an unsafe way to fly under the radar.

[AtheistUndergrad]

An interesting point, and I would say it is perhaps a corollary to my point; shady people deal in illicit goods, and when a deal goes bad, there is no recourse for the victim to redress grievances, except violence. Furthermore, knowing they have no protection from legitimate authority, sellers and buyers alike turn to the threat of violence to enforce fair dealing. Now, add to that desperation and criminal intent...

[AtheistUndergrad]

To further clarify my statement on the use of force, the acceptable application of force in defense of self, property and others is only the force needed to stop the individual(s) who are committing crime. While this guideline is subjective, it does serve as a reminder about what the intent of force is; to stop the crime, and not to punish for it. Punishment is the task of judges and juries under the guidance of law.

[shinedown076]

Depends on the item or service

An morally controversial service, abortion, should be a choice. We as a people, have not reached the same moral understanding of this issue. For instance, killing we believe is mostly morally wrong unless it is out of immediate self-defense or to prevent that life from ending others. Abortion however, has no generally accept positive or negative connotation to it. At least in our own country, we must enlighten ourselves and decide together on its legality.

[AtheistUndergrad]

Abortion does touch on another issue; when does a fetus become a life? While I don't believe that all abortion should be considered legal or illegal, I do think that there needs to be a firm guideline set determining when abortion is acceptable, and when it should be considered as taking a life. I like Penn Jillette's idea that a life should be considered as beginning at the onset of brain function, but that is one of many possible reasonable milestones where the line could be drawn.

[SmokeRingsPipeDreams]

The term assault weapon no longer has any real meaning. It has been used by anti-freedom politcos so much it has been rendered meaningless. Origionally it meant a rifle that could fire both on semi and full auto. The weapons the klintons banned could only fire on semi automatic. The term was used to trick people into supporting gun control.