Thread by @CCamosy

Given the unfolding argument about banning porn (especially on the 'right'), I thought I'd do a little thread on it, especially since #ResistThrowawayCulture highlights the porn industry as a paradigmatic example of the kind of institution we must resist. amazon.com/Resisting-Thro…

Those involved are radically reduced to mere products and then used as mere things. That's the whole point of porn; just ask the whistle-blowers. fightthenewdrug.org/3-male-porn-st…

But what's so pernicious are the social effects. Very little daylight between porn and hook-up cultures.

We have permitted porn to create a throwaway sexual culture for an entire generation. And especially with hapless parents trying in vain to protect their children, there is no end in sight to this trend. If anything, it is getting (much) worse. My book is agnostic about policy...

...questions, but especially given these social implications, banning porn ought to be a considered.

With their support of military/police, and regulation of abortion, traditional conservatives already strongly support intrusive government power to protect the vulnerable.

In Catholicism, we have a well-developed concept for this: subsidiarity. catholicmoraltheology.com/subsidiarity-i… The basic principle is that government ought to be as close and accountable to the (local) people as possible--unless the common good demands something different. Prudence required.

Traditional conservatives can also work across the aisle. Progressive countries like Iceland and Britain and have seen concerned efforts to ban online porn. Starbucks and Tumblr have also recently banned it. Attempts to ban "revenge porn" are also important openings for dialogue.

There are important arguments to be had about prudence and reach/role of gov't, but the "it can't be done" or "it won't work" reactions just don't fit the facts. firstthings.com/article/2019/1…

Let us have a serious debate. The issues involved are just to important to do anything else.