Should the government be involved in making laws to regulate moral behavior? If so, to what extent?

Question

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

You get tax breaks if your married rather than just co inhabiting. Surely that's the government regulating morality.

Saffygirl · Accepted Answer

Nope. My country tried seventy years ago and it ended veeeery badly

ladsin · Answer

Well this is kind of a strange question. I think in some sense all laws are loosely based on morality. We make it illegal because it’s wrong to kill as well as detrimental to a functioning society. We prohibit stealing for the same. We have a graduated income tax because politicians believe it’s moral to tax the rich at a higher rate than we tax the poor, etc. That said, the laws may not always be moral even though people think they are, see the slavery laws we used to have as an example.

Additionally I wrote this long response to a lady below, but I think it’s worth citing it here as well for others. “Nobody knows how many laws we have in the US, but the most exhaustive attempt was headed by the Justice Department to calculate just how many criminal laws there were, but stopped after two years with over 3000 before they said “fuck it” and stopped because Congress changed a bevy of laws and the departmental official said, “you will have died and [been] resurrected three times, and still not have an answer to this question.” This is because as of the 1980s there were already more than 22,000 pages of federal criminal law and congress typically adds ~150 new laws per year.

So for an absurdly low estimate just for the sake of argument say there’s 3,000 laws in America. There’s only 613 laws in the Bible, so even if America adopted every single one of them it would make up less than a fifth of our federal legal code. By no stretch of the imagination near half. Further we know that almost none of these biblical laws are accepted in our legal system. Just of the frequently cited (incorrect) Ten Commandments the first four are unconstitutional under the first amendment, the fifth is about honoring your parents which isn’t illegal, the sixth murder is illegal, the seventh on adultery isn’t illegal, eighth on stealing is, ninth on bearing false witness is in certain settings, and lastly the law against envy which our entire market system is largely based on is not illegal.

So if I’m being entirely generous and willing to grant that those three things (murder, theft, and bearing false witness in certain contexts) are illegal because of the Bible (I don’t, all societies have laws regarding them) that would mean less than a thousandth of our laws are biblically based.

Hopefully this helped a bit.”

curiousnorway · Answer

Yes, it should and my country is already doing it. Such things like rape, murder, theft, driving too fast, drunk driving, violence, scamming, forgery, refusing to paying taxes etc. are already illegal. Almost all countries regulate it to different extents and most societies aren't anarchy. Morals and ethics are quite similar. Both are questions about what's right and wrong.

OlderAndWiser · Answer

Define "regulating moral behavior." Murder is immoral behavior and I think the government should regulate it. Some people think homosexuality is immoral behavior but I don't want the government regulating what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own homes.

CoffeeWC · Answer

No. But liberals would disagree with that.

SuperManiac · Answer

Values are the primary means by which we get people to adhere to ethical behavior as I see it. Laws are a last resort measure as I see it, and I don't see the purpose of laws to enforce morality.

Laws exist to protect human rights as I see it. Another view is that they're there to protect your property, starting with your own body, but also extending to your possessions. If people forcefully violate your property by damaging it, stealing it, taking ownership against your will, then laws are there to protect against such force with force.

But if laws become numerous, you tend to end up with more corruption and sometimes even an undermining of morality in society.

Should the government be involved in making laws to regulate moral behavior? If so, to what extent?

Deathraider · Answer

I mean pretty much down to it’s core any laws that are made are really basically telling what one ought and ought not do. So technically it could be called regulating moral behaviors already.

I would argue that regulating things like which religion you can practice or pornography or even restricting gay marriage, these laws are arbitrary. Why? Because they don’t really affect other people. You aren’t forcing anyone to have a gay marriage at all. In my views, laws are arbitrary when they affect people livelihood and that these behaviors don’t affect anyone.

Guardian45 · Answer

Yes & No.

Yes, because companies, especially transnationals, like Facebook, are solely-motivated by profits and cannot be trusted to be good corporate citizens. They only care about shareholder's interests. Therefore, they require government regulation to compel them to industry compliance and protection of people, society and the environment.

No, because there are necessary limits to big government's controls and manipulation of people. For example, observe the total control of the Chinese goverment's grip over their population through their 'social credit' system and their manipulation of companies like Huawei. Chillingly 1984!

BrittBratt2416 · Answer

um... they already do. That's why we have laws. Half the laws we follow are mainly from the Bible. We have laws against stealing, murder, cheating.. etc and if we do these things they have a consequence and that consequence is usually jail time or a big fine. All these are regulated by the government.

MarkRet · Answer

As far as consensual behavior between people, no. As far as deliberately trying to offend people with disgusting behavior, yes, as in fines. An example would be like those balls hanging off the back of trucks. Nobody needs to see that. If you want to show that off, great, pay a daily fine for it.

BeMuse · Answer

Serial killers think it’s fine to chop someone up when they get the urge. Different people have different moral boundaries. When you live in a society the line has to be drawn somewhere and in a democracy the majority are the ones that get to draw that line via legislation.

almondcake · Answer

I dont know what country you live in but in the UK it is against the law to swear , not often enforced but can be. It is illegal to be naked in a public place unless it is an apropiate place , naturist beach etc. Obusive comments are verbal assault. So our goverment does regulate immoral behaviour but moral behaviour? Why would they?

JamesBoradil03 · Answer

fuck no. that is some communists shit. there is a reason our forefathers gave us freedom of speech, and the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. our laws regulate the important things like dont kill, but being moral and what we say is completly up to us. this is the dumbest question i have seen on GaG period. fucking comy

Edanurus · Answer

Morality is subjective, my morality is different from others. I guess all laws are down to morality, but not completely. government is there for the will of the people, it may seem fine if you agree with the people in charge but the government imposing their morality on the people is just oppression.

CurvyPryde32 · Answer

Good filter to use here is the question "Is there a victim?" And I don't count someone with hurt feelings as a victim. A real victim such as a vitim of robbery, rape, or murder. That is when the law should step in.

Piteka5 · Answer

It's am interesting question, if you see medieval Christian ethics or Rousseau there is an emphasis on personal acts that are not guided by any law, but apart from those points most thinkers defend that law should intervene.

I personally think there should be a great deal of freedom to behave in our own morality, but a baseline should be provided by law

morimeme1 · Answer

Could you give an example. The way I undertant it is that our laws are already based on the modern morals and everything that is truly immoral is illegal so thay already do that...

lomimore · Answer

The extent they have right now is just fine, we don't want next for someone to be punished by law because they lied to their mom or cheated on their So

Anonymous · Answer

The government already controls my money, my rights, my options of abortion, I won’t be ok allowing the government setting laws for how I should behave! I like my freedom to be and act as I please.

videmon · Answer

Moral is cultural and it wouldn't be possible since usually under it is multi cultural society.  But having a law I would say will be more beneficial

TadCurious · Answer

Murder is immoral. I think it's a pretty good exercise of government authority to enact laws against it.

SexyAshh · Answer

No wtf,? They already control all aspects of our life thats too far

Phanta · Answer

To the extent that everything that has a negative impact on society should be outlawed.

Ámayas_20 · Answer

I mean that's really all laws are they have other benefits but it's also to do with people believing it's wrong.

DWD94 · Answer

No, its not big brother government's job to hold a person's hand, wipe their ass for them, teach them right from wrong, etc. Thats what parents are for.

Hurdleez-Swampede · Answer

Yeah, for murder and rape. But if it is for fornication or number of babies people can have, then no.

Bananaman177 · Answer

The more immoral someone is, the more authority the government should have over them.

Anonymous · Answer

No. You can offer incentives for somethings but controlling/mandating is wrong. The incentives should be more about financial, infrastructure and environmental stability rather than oriented toward morals or ethics.

tartaarsaus · Answer

Immoral behaviour tends to go hand in hand with criminal behaviour, which is already prevented by the government

AlexanderBrunnrgaard · Answer

Well it already does. Murder is a law of morality, theft, necrophilia etc.

Stripes99 · Answer

All laws are a reflection of cultural moral perception.  The key is that “the government” doesn’t do it, but the people do. Laws are an enforcement of morality.

Poormanscomedian · Answer

Yes, but you can't force moral behavior. The parents failed and you can't teach an old dog new tricks

motownplayer2000 · Answer

Government should stay the hell out my life.. they are the most corrupt entity on the planet

Anonymous · Answer

Same with hate speech laws: Who defines moral? The ruling party? Hollywood? the news? Vatican? Muslims? Christians? Jews?  There are no common morals. What is okay for one is evil for the other.

Tasmith95 · Answer

No because everyone has different morals, sounds more like a dictator government

smileydrb · Answer

Hell no. They barely follow their own rules let alone the law and you want the Government make laws?

Hispanic-Cool-Guy · Answer

Yes, no nudity publically nor enticing violence pubically.

-Asca- · Answer

... isn't that what all laws are about?

No_Archons · Answer

No, government as we know it should cease to exisr

themomo84 · Answer

Noooo, entirely too subjective

Zerstörer · Answer

They already do that.

Djaay · Answer

That positions already taken by GOD.

HereIbe · Answer

Define "moral behavior".

Repa33 · Answer

No. That's too far

CURIOUShErE1 · Answer

Less government

Hawky_ · Answer

Definitely not.

Should the government be involved in making laws to regulate moral behavior? If so, to what extent?

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