Blahism: Legal Moralism

Pollock explains that “the law should interfere as little as possible in natural liberties and should step in only when the liberty in question injures or impinges on the interests of another (2004, p. 106). This theory is difficult to maintain in terms of legal moralism; which has its good points and its bad points depending on who you are. Legal moralism is a good thing because it “acts as a moral agent where there is no agreement” (Pollock, 2004, p. 108) between members of society regarding an issue such as pornography, certain sexual preferences including prostitution, gambling, and drinking laws. Sometimes, society needs the law to step in and decide on important issues. This can be sticky because the law also needs to maintain separation of church and state. Some people feel that the government does not represent their point of view, so it is difficult to “reinforce society’s definition of moral behavior” (Pollock, 2004, p. 108).

I support a limited legal moralism because some things are just wrong, and the majority of society agrees about certain things that are right and wrong. Not everything that seems wrong, however, should be illegal. As a Christian I am not “for” gay marriage; but, as an American I am not “against” it, either. Regardless if I agree with the morals of gay marriage, it is not right for the government to say two people who love each other cannot be married. If legal moralism is “society’s definitions of moral behavior”, then it should not be a religious definition of moral behavior, which seems to be where the biggest controversies lie. Child pornography is something I think that society can agree is very wrong. This should not even be an issue. Society recognizes that children are different than adults, in such that they have different laws and status offenses that are only illegal for children and not adults. It should go without question that if a child cannot responsibly drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or even buy pornography, then they should not be exposed to, or be an object of pornography.
Legal moralism, like the criminal justice system is something that is not perfect, but that works. As long as society continues to change, legal moralism will change. The criminal justice system should constantly be reevaluated because there are some laws that are outdated or no longer apply to modern situations.

Reference:
Pollock, J.M. (2004). Ethics in crime and justice: Dilemmas and decisions (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth