Monday, April 02, 2018

Gun talk

The reason why discourse about firearms never seems to provide any insight, much less useful thought, is that such discourse is not so much policy discussion as political campaign. The goal of a political campaign is to achieve political power, not to collaborate in analysis of social problems.

This circumstance is understandable; the people who are in favor of restricting the right to bear arms have little interest in exercising that right themselves. If they can give up something that is of no value to them for something which is an ultimate goal, political power, the decision to do so is a no-brainer.

However, the popular appetite for relinquishing rights, regardless of the breadth of their exercise is unpredictable and volatile. The experience with alcohol prohibition is a good example. It is difficult to convince people that they are better off foregoing a right that they have exercised for generations.