From: dave@hpdstma.ptp.hp.com (Dave Waller)
Subject: Re: [Republicans] On Civil Liberties and Drugs
Keywords: New-Speak
Organization: Hewlett Packard
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 19:55:13 GMT

In article <1992Oct12.190054.29254@news.eng.convex.com>, gardner@convex.com (Steve Gardner) writes:

|> 	You act as if these things weren't already going on, despite
|> 	government attempts to curtail them.

On what basis do you make this charge?

|> 	One can only imagine how bad
|> 	it would be if the practices mentioned were not currently 
|> 	proscribed.

To be correct, some of the things mentioned, such as floggings, are not
taking place to any significant degree (indeed, I doubt that any employer
in the US flogs their employees).

However, you are correct that discrimination does indeed take place today.

|> 	I keep hearing this argument that says that because
|> 	descrimination and sexual harassment are bad for business that
|> 	they will wither away.

And this analysis is overly simplistic and therefore flawed, not shared by
the majority of libertarians. Discrimination is with us to stay, it is
simply a matter of how we deal with that is at issue. Libertarians do NOT
propose that discrimination will not happen under a system that allows
for it.

However, a system that proscribes discrimination and provides for severe
punishment as a result does not achieve the goal of eliminating the
discrimination. Rather, it provides an incentive for those with
discriminatory attitudes to seek less visible ways to exercise their
discriminatory practices, making it much more difficult for those of us
who disagree with their ideologies to make economic choices that support
non-discriminatory businesses over discriminatory ones.

Remember that discriminatory attitudes are by far not universally held by
all in society. Indeed, the most racially bigoted among the caucasian
population are a rather small minority, with general support for equal
treatment of various ethnic groups a majority opinion.

When discrimination is proscribed by law, it has two very negative effects
that touch the vast majority of those individuals subject to the racism
in question:

	1. Racist based discrimination is encouraged to become as hidden
	   as possible in order to avoid legal retribution. This makes
	   is much more difficult to identify the racists, and take
	   peaceful economic action against them.

	2. The most extreme racists will often turn to violence as a
	   result of their inability to exercise their discriminatory
	   attitudes peacefully. Racist fanatics who would be satisfied
	   excluding blacks from their restaurant, for example, blame
	   blacks for the laws that prevent them from running their
	   restaurant the way they want to, and end up forming groups
	   like the KKK in their area, commiting violent acts against
	   minorities out of frustration for being forced to serve those
	   do not want to.

At best, very few racial minorities end up benefitting from
anti-discrimination laws, as they make it *harder* to prove discrimination
is taking place due to #1 above. Consider, for example, the recent study
published for the Boston(?) area that showed blacks were less likely
to recieve mortgages than whites, despite being otherwise equal in 39
different categories of qualification for a loan. Even though this statistic
exists, it is nearly impossible, on an individual basis, to point to
discrimination as the cause of the loan refusal, and therefore take legal
action.

However, the statistic is useful in causing people of all races who oppose
such practices from patronizing such institutions.

|> 	Clearly, not all that is bad for business
|> 	is eschewed by business.

True. Further, discrimination can actually be good for business. While
hard-core bigots are certainly a minority in our society, they present
a niche market, and as such, discriminatory practices can actually be
beneficial from a business standpoint.

Nonetheless, no business will grow and prosper beyond a very limited point
if they exercise discriminatory practices, as their market is limited. To
achieve substantial success a business will have to be sensitive to the
attitudes of a wide range of ethnic and cultural views and races. Indeed,
this is what we see today.

It is quite clear that society cannot legislate individual opnion and
attitude. As such, making discrimination illegal will not eliminate racist
attitudes, rather, it will cause racists to seek other, less obvious ways
to express their ideology.

-- 
Dave Waller
Newsgroups: alt.drugs