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Should we treat all behaviors that are associated with a significantly increased mortality rate the same way, or should we pick and choose depending on the poli
by goatcode 4y ago
Should we treat all behaviors that are associated with a significantly increased mortality rate the same way, or should we pick and choose depending on the political and social context at the time, like we do with seatbelts?
- scoopertrooper 4y agoFew other behaviors associated with increase mortality can also turn you into a missile. https://youtu.be/bdW_3oQFO0c?t=42 https://youtu.be/bdW_3oQFO0c?t=42
- goatcode 4y agoBe that as it may, that wasn't the point I was replying to.
- scoopertrooper 4y agoIs not missiling into another person a form of externality?
- goatcode 4y agoPerhaps, but that's not what the comment was addressing. If it were, your point would not address living after having become a missile.
- wizofaus 4y agoI would say we generally do exactly that, when the threshold is significant enough and it's a behavior that has no beneficial/ safe level (we tax and restrict cigarettes heavily, but not so much overconsumption of food etc. Arguably we should/could have penalties for failing to get enough exercise, though there are almost certainly better ways to reduce dangerously sedentary lifestyles).
- goatcode 4y ago>Arguably we should/could have penalties for failing to get enough exercise, though there are almost certainly better ways to reduce dangerously sedentary lifestyles This is my point: we pick and choose, and we're subject to the whims of society, when it comes to what we deem unacceptable. Citing a collective norm that potentially could have been influenced by societal ebbs and flows is not an objective argument, ever.
- wizofaus 4y agoAbsolutely - regulation is hard. I wonder if there are successful instances of government using big-data/ML to determine where, when and in what manner it makes sense to apply it. And would people vote for governments that relied solely on that for what legislation to enact...
- colinmhayes 4y agoGenerally yes. That’s why sugar taxes are needed and popular with economists.
- goatcode 4y agoWhat would you say should be the threshold for increased mortality that would subject a given behavior to heavy taxation and regulation?