[deleted] t1_j76wlto wrote on February 4, 2023 at 3:23 PM

Reply to comment by locri in There Are No Natural Rights (without Natural Law): Addressing what rights are, how we create rights, and where rights come from by contractualist

If a factory spews so much pollution that literally the entire planet's air is less fit for breathing, how will you walk away?

There are actions from which it's impossible to walk away.

hononononoh t1_j77f1i4 wrote on February 4, 2023 at 5:28 PM

The whole notion of “externalities” — recipients of one’s actions that can be safely disregarded and walked away from without consequence, troubles me deeply, and very much puts the “dismal” in “dismal science”. We clearly evolved in a world where externalities abounded, and could be counted on. Is our species capable of handling a world where there aren’t, and cannot be, any externalities? I hope so, but I’m not at all sure.