Check out the latest from Masson’s Blog:
Anti-Science, Anti-Vaxxers Endanger the Herd
While this post discusses the measurable adverse consequences on society when the opponents of vaccines fail to have their children vaccinated, the same sort of (misapplied) logic can be found in other areas of our culture; like, for instance, the Intelligent Designers and the Anti-CAFO folks.
Masson’s posts a critical observation:
This sort of thing illustrates another limitation on the individual model of citizenship. For a great many issues, viewing the citizenry as nothing more or less than a bunch of discrete individuals and shaping policy accordingly is appropriate. But there are also plenty of cases where the consequences of individual choices are imposed on others in a way that the law is not equipped to address very well.
My Mom always told me that “your rights end where my rights begin,” which is a summary of the quote by Zechariah Chaffee, “Your right to swing your arms ends just where the other man’s nose begins.”
When the exercise of your “individual freedom” affects the health and well-being of society, you’ve gone too far. The problem is, where is that line (and who decides)?
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