A Salt on Liberty
I like this article in the New York Times about salt iodization in Kazakhstan. Apparently iodine deficiency is serious, and iodizing salt is extremely cheap. Kazakhstan made iodization of table salt mandatory in 2003.
A quick reader survey: how many of you think mandatory iodization is a good idea in these circumstances? How many of you think it's improper for the government to intervene at all in cases like this? You are in a unique position to confirm or disconfirm my suspicions about the libertarian instincts of my readers. Don't take this as an attack, take this as an opportunity to articulate the proper role of government in circumstances like these. And don't worry, I don't plan to rehash the terminological debate, I just want to know where you sit.
[UPDATE: Judge Posner considers the merits of a ban on trans fats. Many of his points would be valid in the argument about iodization, except that I take it that the arguments for iodization are much stronger than the arguments against trans fat. Incidentally, Judge Posner considers the trans fat ban to be something libertarians are likely to disagree with, which is a data point in favor of my definition of libertarian.]
A quick reader survey: how many of you think mandatory iodization is a good idea in these circumstances? How many of you think it's improper for the government to intervene at all in cases like this? You are in a unique position to confirm or disconfirm my suspicions about the libertarian instincts of my readers. Don't take this as an attack, take this as an opportunity to articulate the proper role of government in circumstances like these. And don't worry, I don't plan to rehash the terminological debate, I just want to know where you sit.
[UPDATE: Judge Posner considers the merits of a ban on trans fats. Many of his points would be valid in the argument about iodization, except that I take it that the arguments for iodization are much stronger than the arguments against trans fat. Incidentally, Judge Posner considers the trans fat ban to be something libertarians are likely to disagree with, which is a data point in favor of my definition of libertarian.]
posted by James | 6:16 AM
3 Comments:
Heh. Of course I support mandatory iodization in this case, but the issues where you'd see the liberal-libertarian divide are more local ones, like the New York trans fat ban. I think there's a difference between a public health policy in a third-world nation designed to prevent disease and the sort of frivolous, counterproductive efforts at government regulation for less serious issues in countries like the US.
Becker's response to Posner on the trans fat issue may be worth reading as an example of a blend of stereotypical libertarian rhetoric ("nanny state") with economic reasoning.
But if we're still sparring over what "libertarian" means, whether Pose is meaningfully "libertarian," etc., check out Posner's response to comments and defense of his trans fat positions, where he links both the "libertarian" position and his own contrary thinking to the great J.S. Mill, one of history's least evil geniuses. This is a deep connection, and a reminder that the old "liberals" were "libertarian" in a meaningful application of the modern sense long before Ayn Rand came along and spawned all the ideologues you, James, hate. I've described myself as a Mill-inspired libertarian before, and I'm growing more confirmed in that position.
I think I might start referring to myself as a "Mill libertarian" or a "Millian" (as Pose has it), to solve the terminological problem at least as it applies to me personally.
Would you entertain the possibility of "On Liberty" as a TMS book, or is it too dated?
Sorry, I forgot to post my links:
Becker's libertarian position on trans fats
Posner's response to comments (self-description as "Millian" at top)
For added enjoyment, here's the post I made when the trans fat ban was announced. I'm not sure I have an opinion other than what I say there, which is that it's good for me personally but the intrusion makes me uncomfortable (for reasons, I give some reasons).
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