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nekzntoday at 4:47 PM8 repliesview on HN

I’m not saying immoral things can’t be banned. I’m saying that to ban something we must be able to construct an argument that does not hinge on morality. For example, theft is bad because it deprives you of your possessions. No need to invoke morality.

And yes, you can construct an argument to ban polymarket that does not rely on morality too. But don’t try to sell it to me with a “we will ban it because it’s eeeeevil”.


Replies

FabHKtoday at 5:13 PM

> to ban something we must be able to construct an argument that does not hinge on morality. For example, theft is bad because it deprives you of your possessions. No need to invoke morality.

Ok, I'll bite. Why is it bad to deprive you of your possessions?

And given that the house always wins, is it not depriving the gamblers of their possessions?

mr_mitmtoday at 6:34 PM

Gambling creates addicts, and addicts are more likely to act in desperation. They might steal, default on debt, or kill themselves and are less productive members of society. I bet societies with lots of addicts are much less likely to thrive because they carry a ton of dead weight. Thus we should ban or at least curb gambling because it hurts us all in general.

sapphicsnailtoday at 8:33 PM

> For example, theft is bad because it deprives you of your possessions. No need to invoke morality.

This assertion also hinges on morality. Why is being deprived of your possessions bad. You ultimately have to reach for an ethical framework to justify it.

allthetimetoday at 5:40 PM

To deeply simplify - why do we ban things?

I'd say, because we as a group decide they are "bad".

Not sure how you can remove moral judgments from any discussion of banning

lxgrtoday at 6:19 PM

Which human law does not ultimately hinge on morality?

satvikpendemtoday at 5:29 PM

That literally is a type of morality, utilitarianism. Kantian deontology is not the only form of morality structure there is.

redsocksfan45today at 8:16 PM

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noIdeaTheSecondtoday at 5:20 PM

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