> So, breaking the law in and of itself doesn't accelerate change?
Not really, no. The part of civil disobedience that accelerates change is when people are seen to be punished for the laws.
I don't know about the history of corn laws, but with both alcohol and marijuana, it wasn't the breaking of the laws itself that caused the laws to be changed, it was people getting punished for engaging in activities that others thought should not be illegal. If nobody is seen as being punished by the law, then most people won't be energized to change them because it looks like nobody's being unjustly harmed.
> how can you square that with obeying laws that bring misery to others?
I don't know that I bring misery to others in the laws that I follow. But your question is impossible to answer as stated -- what about laws that bring misery to some but justice to others? The world isn't usually black and white, and that includes laws.
My only point in this discussion is that there may be a moral high ground in breaking some laws under some circumstances. But making a profit is never such a moral high ground.
Companies that break laws to increase their profits are simply criminals, not bringers of justice.
Not really, no. The part of civil disobedience that accelerates change is when people are seen to be punished for the laws.
I don't know about the history of corn laws, but with both alcohol and marijuana, it wasn't the breaking of the laws itself that caused the laws to be changed, it was people getting punished for engaging in activities that others thought should not be illegal. If nobody is seen as being punished by the law, then most people won't be energized to change them because it looks like nobody's being unjustly harmed.
> how can you square that with obeying laws that bring misery to others?
I don't know that I bring misery to others in the laws that I follow. But your question is impossible to answer as stated -- what about laws that bring misery to some but justice to others? The world isn't usually black and white, and that includes laws.
My only point in this discussion is that there may be a moral high ground in breaking some laws under some circumstances. But making a profit is never such a moral high ground.
Companies that break laws to increase their profits are simply criminals, not bringers of justice.