The Case Against “Safety”
Posted by freedomforall 2 months, 1 week ago to Philosophy
Excerpt:
"It is perhaps reasonable to make the argument that the federal government’s regulation of vehicle exhaust emissions is legitimate. Up to the point after which the regulations cross over into unreasonableness.
This happened about 30 years ago.
But it has never been reasonable for the government to issue “safety” regulations, for at least two reasons.
The first is that the government’s “safety” regulations aren’t really about safety – in much the same way that the drugs pushed on people weren’t really about stopping the spread.
Just as when most people hear the word “vaccine,” they instantly think of immunity, so also when they hear “safety,” they instantly think about whether a car is dangerous to drive. Put another way, whether the car is defectively designed in some way that makes driving it risky. But that would be a case for the courts – not the regulatory apparat.
...
If “Smith” buys a car without an air bag – assuming he’s free to do so, because he does not wish to incur the cost of the air bag – and ends up incurring the cost of being injured more seriously in a wreck (assuming he wrecks) then the cost of that is in principle borne entirely by him – unless government gets involved and transfers the costs of his medical care and so on to other people, who had nothing to do with incurring those costs.
And that is illegitimate.
Once upon a better time, most Americans understood this. It is why, once-upon-a-better-time, America was not only plausibly a free country – a term one never hears spoken anymore – it was a more responsible country. People were more free to assume risks but were expected to be the ones responsible for the costs (if incurred) as the price of enjoying the rewards.
Today, we’re all expected to be responsible for the costs, whether we incur them or not. And that accounts for why this very “safe” country is no longer a very free one.
------------------------------------------------
Women are far more inclined to give up freedom for safety than men. Giving women the right to vote has resulted in a great loss of freedom for everyone, including many who do not consent to such slavery.
"It is perhaps reasonable to make the argument that the federal government’s regulation of vehicle exhaust emissions is legitimate. Up to the point after which the regulations cross over into unreasonableness.
This happened about 30 years ago.
But it has never been reasonable for the government to issue “safety” regulations, for at least two reasons.
The first is that the government’s “safety” regulations aren’t really about safety – in much the same way that the drugs pushed on people weren’t really about stopping the spread.
Just as when most people hear the word “vaccine,” they instantly think of immunity, so also when they hear “safety,” they instantly think about whether a car is dangerous to drive. Put another way, whether the car is defectively designed in some way that makes driving it risky. But that would be a case for the courts – not the regulatory apparat.
...
If “Smith” buys a car without an air bag – assuming he’s free to do so, because he does not wish to incur the cost of the air bag – and ends up incurring the cost of being injured more seriously in a wreck (assuming he wrecks) then the cost of that is in principle borne entirely by him – unless government gets involved and transfers the costs of his medical care and so on to other people, who had nothing to do with incurring those costs.
And that is illegitimate.
Once upon a better time, most Americans understood this. It is why, once-upon-a-better-time, America was not only plausibly a free country – a term one never hears spoken anymore – it was a more responsible country. People were more free to assume risks but were expected to be the ones responsible for the costs (if incurred) as the price of enjoying the rewards.
Today, we’re all expected to be responsible for the costs, whether we incur them or not. And that accounts for why this very “safe” country is no longer a very free one.
------------------------------------------------
Women are far more inclined to give up freedom for safety than men. Giving women the right to vote has resulted in a great loss of freedom for everyone, including many who do not consent to such slavery.
I told her that I much preferred to pay attention to my driving and have the skills to AVOID most crashes.
Having a car responsive enough to match those skills is also a benefit.
But the thing that amazes me the most is this: For something that, done poorly, can kill you, very few people seem interested in doing it well. Or these days, even paying attention while doing it!
agree 100%