Unexpected Hope


Where legal prohibition can lead
Author L. Neil Smith makes the case for freedom in an unexpected way at the Libertarian Enterprise.

A few years ago, I co-wrote a novel, Hope, in which the first libertarian president confronts a politician—a thinly-veiled Texas Congressman Ron Paul—famous for his prohibitionistic stance on abortion.

Alexander Hope happens to be a Roman Catholic, himself, not a big fan of abortion, but he is an intelligent and thoughtful man, capable of seeing ahead to the consequences of his own acts and the acts of others.

He lectures the congressman, not on what most people would regard as the moral or aesthetic aspects of the question—although you may rest assured that they are of supreme importance to yours truly—but on the kind of state apparatus that would have to be constructed these days, probably little by little, around strongly-written laws against abortion.

A women would be required, for example, to promptly report her pregnancy to the government, and there would criminal penalties for failing to do so. Weekly doctor's checkups would be mandatory, and again, punishment would ensue for any woman who refused to show up for them.

Of course drinking or smoking in any amount would be considered child abuse, as would the appearance of willful failure to exercise or to eat properly. That, or anything resembling an attempt to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, would result in hospital incarceration, a whole new definition of forced labor, and something resembling a suicide watch.

Of course individuals would resist. A huge underground structure would be created to support them. That would trigger more laws, more thugs to enforce them, whole armies of spies, and ever more stringent penalties.

The president concludes by asking the congressman if he's really willing to live in the brutal and oppressive police state that would inevitably result from his well-meaning attempt to outlaw abortion. You'll have to read Hope to see how the congressman replied. Go to www.jpfo.org/hope.htm.

There you have it, one of the best arguments I have ever read against prohibition measures. The simple fact that in order to enforce compliance, almost all your freedom would eventually have to be sacrificed to the "greater good."

Very telling. Especially in these days of the USA PATRIOT Act and the War on Drugs.

Yes, I just bought the book.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - October 27, 2005 at 05:06 AM  Tag


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