Goal 12:Reform "sin" laws to be more effective.ObstaclesObjections to activities considered "sinful" by some and "victimless crimes" by others are similar to those discussed in the prior goal on intoxicating drug use. Prostitution and gambling are two of the most frequently mentioned. It seems clear that very few people would choose prostitution, except for economic conditions. So the "victimless" issue in probably not true. Even supporters of legalizing prostitution would probably prefer practitioners have better economic alternatives. The Netherlands now has fully legal prostitution, but still suffers from an underground segment which deals with illegal activities such as importing sex slaves and ties to organized crime.Gambling is an issue, when illegal, since it provides a source of money for the underground economy. The distaste for gambling as a "sin" has to be balanced with economic costs. Legalized gambling has an impact on society as it acts as a drain on the productive use of money and can, when abused, cause harm to one's immediate family. The rise of legal gambling shows that these attitudes are changing. Good education and a separation of the objections by religious and economic considerations should work as well with other areas typically considered proper for regulation. Typical other current "sin" issues include the feelings towards extra-marital sex, same sex relationships and other religion inspired attitudes. ImplementationDrug use, mentioned in the previous goal, is a "sin" that has already been discussed. This leaves the broad class of "victimless" crimes. It's clear that activities of sexual exploitation are almost always the result of economic forces. Fixing these causes will remove the disadvantaged pool that provides the labor force. Other "sins" such as gambling and non-standard sexual affinities are already undergoing a change in attitude. Gambling has become a revenue source for government and is becoming acceptable and wide-spread with increasing oversight. The excesses can be managed like any other addiction, with modest success.Personal sexual and life style activities are also undergoing a change in attitude as the younger generations take over. The best that can be expected is that the forces for social change will keep up their demands and that the transition won't fall into intolerance and repression. This usually happens when a theocratic group gains control of a society and institutes doctrinaire policies. Iran and Afghanistan are two recent examples. In these cases the results are catastrophic. Economic activity declines, the standard of living drops and civil unrest becomes inevitable. Eventually, the populace rebels against the regime with bloody results. Even enlightened societies can fall prey to this cycle. The rise of the Puritans under Cromwell being a good example in a western society. "Sin" is never going to be eliminated, so if some of these activities have socially damaging aspects the proper course of action is to bring them into the open and monitor and regulate them so as to minimize abuses. Social conservatives in every generation thunder against the decline of civilization and use the outrage generated to rally supporters behind their self-serving aims. We are at an especially dangerous moment in history as these conservatives have started to influence public policy. As mentioned above this usually turns out to create a situation worse than the one that they were (ostensibly) trying to fix. |