Politcal Theory- The Liber tarian approach Essay

Politcal Theory- The Liber tarian approach - Essay Example Government’s roles in the private lives of citizens and their activities include enacting contracts, protecting people’s property from theft and keeping peace. Sandel states that â€Å"if the libertarian theory of rights is correct, then many activities of the modern state are illegitimate, and violations of liberty† (60). Libertarianism implies that individuals have the right to do whatever they desire with their bodies and property, but refrain from harming other people without their consent or destroying their property. The contemporary social institutions have enforced and implemented laws, regulations, values and policies that prohibit some of the liberties that the libertarian approach consider as the right. These institutions in the society include political, social and economic institutions. Social institutions govern individuals’ relationship and interaction with other people such as religious values, beliefs and customs. Political institutions im plement laws and policies that prevent individuals from practicing unaccepted behavior while economic institutions deals with freedom in free markets. Libertarianism and Violation of Liberty According to Sandel (60), individuals have the right to ownership of their body and property. An individual has the right to consent to heinous acts such as cannibalism, scientific experimentations and assisted suicide. Cannibalism is defined as eating human flesh for the purpose of survival, experimentation or cultural beliefs. In the contemporary society, cannibalism is considered a crime punishable by serving a life sentence or death by lethal injection. However, there are people who want to experiment on the old customs of eating human flesh. There are two groups of people who participate in this agreement: the cannibals and the consenting adults who will be eaten. According to the libertarian approach, an adult who has the mental capacity to understand the experiment and know its consequenc es can consent to cannibalism. The society and the government must not intervene in such matters because people have the freedom and the right to make their own decisions about their bodies. The judicial system will be violating the rights of an individual to ownership by arresting and charging the individuals who participated in the acts of cannibalism or assisted suicide. Libertarian approach advocates for freedom to participate in leisure activities that do not cause harm to other people. Such leisure activities include consented pornography and prostitution. In the contemporary society, state laws and religious rules are enacted to prevent these unlawful acts. Watching and sharing pornography in schools, airplanes and other public areas are serious offenses that lead serving time in prison. Prostitution is illegal and shunned by religious groups. However, according to the libertarian approach, consenting to prostitution as a source of income is a person’s choice and prefe rence. Women who consent to selling sexual favors can do so according to their desires and projected outcomes. Pornography and prostitution are victimless crimes that do not violate or hurt other people. According to the libertarian approach, charging individuals for performing the above acts in a court of law violates their liberty to ownership. In the U.S, a few states have legalized the use of marijuana as a medical drug or leisure drug. Other states refuse to legalize this drug because of the moral constraints associated with it. According to