Episode 157: Black Markets

Season 1 Episode 157

Many people imagine that, when the government bans something, the banned thing goes away. In fact, what banning does is to remove government protections against violence, theft, and fraud. Justification for banning things that harm no one other than, perhaps, the person who wants those things hinges on inequality - that some of us should have the right to tell others of us how those others should live their own lives.

Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers

Quick hits

Technological cure for macular degeneration https://scienceblog.com/513957/first-in-the-u-s-wireless-retinal-device-for-advanced-age-related-macular-degeneration/

Americans go to libraries more than to movies

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americans-went-library-more-often-movies-2019-180974091/

Foolishness of the week

Trump and Pelosi’s Incivility

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/05/pelosis-page-ripping-was-fitting-end-impeachment/

Topic of the week

United Nations World Drug Report

https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2019/en/index.html