The raison d’etre for being a politician, or to use that wonderfully explicit Americanism, a ‘lawmaker’, is to pass laws. This is a topic I have often pondered before. Without that ability, a politician’s power of patronage completely disappears and with it, the funds given by people who want laws enacted that tilts the table in favour their personal or factional interests. To be a politician is to see the world as something to be legislated.
Thus when I hear that there is another push in the US to pass laws that will ‘control the availability of pornography to minors’, I feel the urge to nod sagely and marvel at yet another example of the triumph of image over substance. Now I know you expect the usual rant from me regarding how such legislation is a violation of both freedom of expression and freedom of association, but as any regular reader of Samizdata.net already knows my views on that, let me just point out that what really interests me is that ‘lawmakers’ are so happy to pass laws that have no chance whatsoever of making the slightest difference to the perceived problem at hand. This is nothing new of course, but it is sometimes worth reminding oneself why this happens so often.
The public appearance of a politico ‘doing something’ is far more valuable to that politico than actually addressing the problems they are called on to fix. Thus the actual efficacy of a measure, or even the prospect of the law passing, is often largely incidental to the decision to try and enact a law. Thus if the ACLU, EFF, FOREST or whoever get a bill strangled at birth, the politico can shake his head sadly at his enraged backers and say “Hey, I tried, but those slimy [civil rights/capitalist/pinko/faggot] S.O.Bs got in the way”.
And thus a sublimely fungible business like Internet pornography, much of which already runs off servers in Romania, Bangladesh and Brazil (places not known for giving a flying whatever what laws get enacted in the USA), is going to be effectively regulated by some American law how exactly?
Do the majority of legislators actually care? Probably not, other that a small semi-demented cadre of folks from the less well travelled American hinterlands who probably cannot conceive that the world is filled with people who regard the antics of American Lawmakers with mild bemusement or utter indifference.
I consider politicians to be largely a waste of time and resources, except when we need a talking head to get a police or library levy passed.
Good news, Perry. The UK Government has found the solution to traffic congestion. In the new Traffic Management Bill, they are going to legislate to get the traffic moving.
All that time we’ve been sitting in traffic jams fuming while a simple law could solve the problem.
I can’t wait.
Having spent some time there, I can assure you from personal experience that the “cadre of folks from the less well travelled American hinterlands” -whatever their other flaws- also regard lawmakers with bemusement or utter indifference.
After all, as Perry pointed out, they are only semi-demented.
Doug: it was actually a referance to a rather surreal personal experience I had in Peoria when discussing international affairs with a then policy wonk I knew (and would rather not name) many years ago who I later discovered went on to bigger things. Let’s just say I doubt he could find Germany on a map.
I quite agree. Politicians — particularly at a national level — often cynically propose legislation for the sake of shoring up their political base. It’s a shame, but that’s politics for you. I made a very similar point recently.
There are all sorts of dangerous and intrusive things governments can do to restrict local flow of global information. Australia’s approach to banning pornography was to make ISP’s responsible for content served. France’s solution to Nazi memorobilia for sale online was to sue the provider. The US is inclined toward V-chip type filtering solutions on the receiving end. China just rounds people up and throws them in prison from time to time.
None of these measures ever fully have the desired effect, but they very definitely have an effect.
If ever governments begin cooperating with each other on restricting content, we’re in trouble. Despite the geek ethos of routing around censorship.
Perry,
You may think those people in Romania, Brazil and Bangladesh don’t give a flip about US law but it would be wise for them to do so. Uncle Sugar has a way of making foreign governments harboring people doing things he doesn’t like decide that stopping those people from doing them is a good idea. Doubt that? I give you the banking secrecy laws of Switzerland, Bermuda and the Caymans as the first example. There are many others.
The United States is a sellers’ market for laws, which fact is only a natural consequence of hiring drones to do nothing but sit around and write laws for over two centuries. Cultured to it as they are, the imbeciles in my homeland — otherwise generally competent to deal with reality — believe something on the order of this activity being necessary to keeping the earth securely in its orbit from day to day.
There is no telling what might relieve them of this awesome delusion, but I’d love to see it.
Dan Wiggins: I think you overestimate the influance of Uncle Sugar to get others to do things which are not in their interests. The examples you give actually prove my point more than you pobably realise as the reality of the ‘end of banking secrecy’ is not as it seems.
This sort of fatuous and unenforceable legislation reminds me of that great line from Yes, Minister:
c.f. Dangerous Dogs Act, firearms bans, etc. etc ad libertam.
Great. Another law banning something that is already illegal. Marvellous. Something’s illegal & people still do it? Make it illegal again!!! That’ll stop’em!
Barking moonbats
As a hinterlander ‘Merrikan, I take great pleasure in the fact that our legislators waste copious amounts of time to these issues of little note. It keeps them from legislating on matters that do matter, so I’m all for their wasting time on anti-pornography legislation.
As for finding Germany on a map: just give us a reason to target it, and it will be found. It’s been a while, but we can find places when necessary. Why does the rest of the world care if average dork Americans know they are there? Low self esteem or exaggerated self-worth?