Old Media Have New Message: New York Times & Economist Call for OK'ing Pot & Sex Dick Meyer - Redding.com
go to original August 12, 2014

First The New York Times devotes a full week of editorials to arguing for the legalization of marijuana. Now the venerable Economist magazine comes out and calls for the legalization of prostitution, particularly the online variety.

The editorial pages of the Times are supposed to be the hymnal of contemporary American liberalism, so maybe its pot position isn’t much of a surprise. And The Economist is strictly and mischievously laissez-faire, so there is nothing inconsistent about it pushing a free-market for sex either. Still, they're interesting moves.

The Times began its seven-part series of editorials this way:

    “It took 13 years for the United States to come to its senses and end Prohibition, 13 years in which people kept drinking, otherwise law-abiding citizens became criminals and crime syndicates arose and flourished. It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed the current ban on marijuana, inflicting great harm on society just to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol.”

...When it comes to legalizing the world's oldest profession, The Economist is unconvinced by conservative, moral arguments against prostitution and by liberal ones that say sex workers are victims. The magazine argues the Internet can do more good than than anti-legalization efforts:

    "Above all, the web will do more to make prostitution safer than any law has ever done. Pimps are less likely to be abusive if prostitutes have an alternative route to market. Specialist sites will enable buyers and sellers to assess risks more accurately. Apps and sites are springing up that will let them confirm each other’s identities and swap verified results from sexual-health tests. Schemes such as Britain’s Ugly Mugs allow prostitutes to circulate online details of clients to avoid.”

Read the rest at Redding.com

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