Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

There's a pretty good argument that intentionally disobeying the law in the commission of a normally morally neutral act is itself immoral. If a useful, just law is routinely flouted, eventually the usefulness of that law will collapse. If many such laws are frequently disregarded, eventually the credibility of the legal authority will be lost. (This is a good argument for not passing unenforceable or excessively strict laws.)

One of the interesting things about laws is that in many cases people follow them without regard for the consequences of not following them. A society where people will obey laws because they are valid, just, and reasonable is much better than one where they obey laws because the alternative is a flogging or hanging.





Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: