Prerogative vs prohibition

What do gasoline, potato chips, and Ashley Madison have in common?

They’re all solutions to a problem. Sold to people with good intentions.

By people who want to make a profit. To feed their families and have a life.

They also bad for you, your loved one’s, or the planet.

So where do we draw the line?

We don’t. The truth is, people create, sell, buy, market, and promote solutions all the time. Some people benefit from the business of doing so, while other’s don’t.

We can set up systems and guardrails to prevent harm and foul-play. But we can also invent new solutions to combat existing problems.

Banning Route 11 chips—which are delicious by the way—is not how we solve for obesity. Banning dating apps is not going to lower divorce. And penalizing folks who drive gas guzzlers won’t solve the climate crisis.

Better incentives will.