If there were no consequences for breaking the law would you break it?

[Jazzy Stardust]

It really depends on what it is, stuff that goes around comes around so...

 

[Anarkist]

I'd break it. Take things for free, do whatever you want, it's not like someone's gonna call 999/911 and say "this person stole my money" and all that nonsense. Depends what laws wouldn't have consequences, for example, community service for thievery, house arrest (ankle tag) for ra**** an innocent woman, etc.
Although without law, we wouldn't be here xD.

 

[Aim64C]

Well would you?

It really depends upon the law in question. There are a lot of laws that are selectively enforced. There are a lot of laws that are ignored, already. There are a lot of laws that are just plain stupid and your 'breaking' them does nothing to harm anyone.

Regardless, most people are not especially devious. Numerous studies have shown that penalties for breaking the law have relatively little to do with the rates of violation for that law (the exception being in cases where cost/benefit of breaking a law can be calculated and it is known that the cost of a fine is minimal compared to the financial benefit of not complying with a law/regulation).

Basically - there are two types of criminals; those who are economical, and those who are behavioral. Theft is an economic form of crime. The risks of being caught are assessed as being minimal, and the individual commits the crime. The penalty can be death, and it really doesn't enter into the logic of whether or not the crime is committed. On the other hand, murder is often a behavioral crime where an emotional over-reaction or quest for dominance comes with lethal consequences to the other party(s).

In a "lawless" society, most of the 'crime' that is currently 'hidden' simply becomes part of every day reality. Leave valuable crap in your car - expect someone to take advantage of that. Get caught taking someone's valuables - expect to get blown away on the spot. Kill someone's kin/brethren for a reason that does not seem logical to them - expect to be hunted down.

What it would boil down to is that a lot of the criminal activity burns itself out. The people who just want to go about being decent company to each other are not tolerant of dishonest practice and attempts at violent intimidation.

To understand how a lawless society would truly function, you need to look no further than the question of: "Where did the first laws come from?"

The fact is that our society is the product of an initially lawless creature that ate and bred like any other creature on this planet.

 

[Kira was Righteous]

Yes it is human nature anything that is deemed acceptable by society will naturally be replicated. A good example would be slavery or other acts of modern day mass genocide castration,murder,rape, deciding who deserves freedom and other such acts while deplorable to the modern day westerner not so long ago these such acts were being orchestrated and deemed acceptable by entire societies in the west.Have humans changed so much in the last one hundred years? I think not. The only thing you can count is that most people will follow the norms in society and that is what is troubling.

 

[Sir Francis Drake]

I'd break every single law ever.

 

[Cornson]

Well would you?

it depend on what law really, like if i could stop paying taxed without ending up in jail, sure i would do it, as long as it does not hurt other people or animals, or the planet (in any way) i don't see a problem in "skipping" some of laws we humans have created.

 

[Rioxnation]

probably not, at least until a number of people do it consistently. I wouldnt do it at first because my moral value will override the thought of breaking the law and to probably try to stay in line, however with enough influence i'll change.

 

[Aim64C]

Yes it is human nature anything that is deemed acceptable by society will naturally be replicated. A good example would be slavery or other acts of modern day mass genocide castration,murder,rape, deciding who deserves freedom and other such acts while deplorable to the modern day westerner not so long ago these such acts were being orchestrated and deemed acceptable by entire societies in the west.

People simply don't understand the world they truly live in.

There will always be people who seek power, dominance, and control over each other. Slavery is still quite common, even in America. Your parents participated in it, and every working individual does, too.

You see, taxes that I pay for "security" are taken and used to pay off bonds that were issued decades ago to pay my grandparents their 'security.' My parents were paying into that system their entire life. Since they are dead, they don't get to draw from it - but the money they paid in also went to pay off bonds issued decades before the taxes were due. Had they begun drawing social security payments, they would be given money not from me, but from the bonds issued that year. Investors (largely mutual funds and, ironically, retirement holdings funds) purchase those bonds - those 'promises to pay' - which gives the government the capital to give to our parents or grandparents.

Meanwhile, we are told that our social security taxes are held in an account (because I'm too stupid to do that myself, I guess) and will be paid back to us 15 years before we are expected to die. So, when we reach the age of our parents, we feel as though we are entitled to our cookie that we were promised.

Which is paid for by our children, born and unborn.

We authorized our government to promise to pay companies back years down the line so that we can have what we want, now.

It's really kind of funny to hear people talk as though laws and government have ended human savagery. Laws and government do little more than legitimize human savagery. They give people clear routes for attaining more power, more influence, and less opposition.

Have humans changed so much in the last one hundred years? I think not. The only thing you can count is that most people will follow the norms in society and that is what is troubling.

That is what is exciting.

In a lawless society, you don't have to worry about being thrown in jail for sending a kid to bed without supper as a form of discipline. You don't have to worry about choosing to send your kid to a school other than the public school (because no one is going to come along and put a lock on your door for refusing to pay the city for a school that sucks).

You don't have to worry about whether or not the pool you dug and put in the ground, yourself, will increase the amount of taxes you have to pay by a hundred dollars each year. You can add on to your house without having to get a permit. You can trade with your neighbors without having to pay the local thugs who threaten to put a lock on your door for not paying a rate you were told to pay by a council of 15 people in a city of thousands.

As far as the humanitarian crimes, there will still be child *** slaves - just as there are today. It's a booming business in America. The fact that it is illegal makes it insanely profitable, along with most other things that are illegal.

I can manufacture parts to complete 'illegal' firearms for hundreds and thousands of dollars on the part - all simply because legitimate businesses respect the fact that some douche in an office decided that the firearm in question would be 'illegal.'

I can grow illegal plants and mushrooms with absolutely insane values on the street. Legitimate farmers don't produce them because their operation would be shut down by the people who are supposed to keep thugs and villains at bay. I can turn a mildly draining habit, similar to drinking or smoking, and turn it into a life-crushing financial burden with products that are only mildly habit forming (compared to alcohol and the nicotine-enriched cigarettes we have these days).

Laws and regulations, for your safety, prevent me from being able to enter into markets that have been hijacked by government-enforced monopolies. Changes to products that you don't really like are here to stay. That's why tobacco products have gotten so out of hand. Unadulterated tobacco is not nearly as offensive to the senses as the sticks of shit sold in stores across the country. It's still nothing I'd decide to roll up and suck on - but the regulations protect those who have the money to throw at meeting regulations (that have been guided in the legislative process by their lobbyists).

Again, all for your safety and security. Can't have you as a lawless savage, now can we?

The reason why America was such a great country is because it was free. Even though there were some kinks that had to be worked out - the very reason why America was legendary as the 'mixing pot' is for the simple reason that the American system of government did not set up titles of nobility, did not try to engineer or protect businesses, and did not give them a means to extort each other through government.

I have been studying the Balkans, recently. It is amazing to me how similar our history is, yet how different the outcomes. The reason is very simple - the concept of a limited government and an empowered people. America has heroes like Washington who did not wish to be President, did not want an authoritarian government, and opted to limit his term to eight years. The Balkans have heroes like Tito - who was about as benevolent of a dictator history has to offer - and, predictably, the peace ended not long after his passing.

I think the lesson is simple.

Governments do nothing that the people, themselves, are incapable of doing.

The greater the power and responsibility of the government, the more opportunity it affords those who seek power to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

I would even argue that innovations like the Internet have largely rendered the function of governments moot, particularly with technologies similar to BitCoin.

Governments are very, very old concepts of human structure. Many of them are based on the simple concept of supporting war-lords. Someone comes along and promises to keep the bandits away if you feed him. It sounds good, but then when the bandits are gone, and you don't feed him, he threatens to drive you away like the bandits.

That is why the American model of an empowered and largely autonomous citizenry was so successful. Nationalities who absolutely hated each other would move here and end up starting business ventures together. Neither one of them was in a position to extort the other and the old tensions evaporated.

But, at this point, I'm rambling/ranting.

 

[Jin Hayami]

Depends.
Would I run traffic lights when I'm the only one at them? Yes. Would I smoke weed? Yup. Would I beat the shit out of people I hate? You bet.
Would I steal kidnap murder or rape? Nope.

 

[EnDash]

You must be registered for see links

[video=youtube;mQUr2RkjykU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQUr2RkjykU[/video]
0x5f3759df

 

[Aim64C]

You must be registered for see links

[video=youtube;mQUr2RkjykU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQUr2RkjykU[/video]
0x5f3759df

If murder weren't illegal, then it would be equally valid for me to turn around and kill you for killing someone I liked having around.

There would be a few months where this all got settled, but for the most part, things would go on largely like they do, today. There would be very few differences, because the average person desires a life where they do not have to expect violent retaliation for their actions.

 

[EnDash]

If murder weren't illegal, then it would be equally valid for me to turn around and kill you for killing someone I liked having around.

There would be a few months where this all got settled, but for the most part, things would go on largely like they do, today. There would be very few differences, because the average person desires a life where they do not have to expect violent retaliation for their actions.

but there would also be people that either don't care, don't understand the consequences or think that the consequences won't happen, and those kinds of people never really die away. things in life tend more towards chaos and away from stability and it takes considerably more effort to keep things stable then to let them slip to chaos. the laws against murder and other things are those efforts.