Wednesday, October 22, 2003 :::
Some Eastern Malaysian states where Parti Islam SeMalaysia is strong want to impose Sharia law, whereby they can stone to death adulterers and so on. Much of The WestTM is opposed, but I think we should keep track of priorities here.The first thing we want from a state is not to send people to blow us up, with not to harbor people to blow us up following very closely on its heels. Complying with basic international rules of state-to-state relationships — broad keeping of agreements and contracts, that sort of thing — comes next. Human rights and, farther down the list, well-constructed democracy, those promote stability, and to the extent they increase the likelihood that the state will continue to be run by a regime that will not lead to our being blown up, etc., those, too, are things we can cheer on. Once the right of exit is granted, though, and a basic rule of law established, I become much more reluctant to use force or even direct pressure to dramatically improve things. Frankly, while I can get myself upset about stoning rape victims, it seems reasonable to me that some people would want to live in a community where women are conservatively dressed and adultery is criminal. It can be (or, in any case, is) argued that a privacy right protects a human right to adultery; at the very least, this isn't terribly low-hanging fruit. If you want to promote global adultery, stick to leadership by example.
::: posted by dWj at 10:22 AM
