Prostiution

There's a fascinating blog out of Israel that I read called South Jerusalem; nice writing on issues inside (and in this case outside) of Israel from a liberal/progressive Jewish perspective.

Today they address the debate on legalization of prostitution. In the wake of the Spitzer fiasco there has been some good debate on the pros and cons of legalizing prostitution between consenting adults or maintaining our current ban. Gershom Gorenberg writes,

Because freeing sexuality from state interference has become part of the left’s agenda, many people who think of themselves as progressive have reacted to the Spitzer affair by wondering whether prostitution should really be illegal. (Yes, they say, he broke the law, and is a hypocrite, and was nasty to his wife, but should the law be there at all?) Wouldn’t it make more sense to decriminalize it? Sure, there’s human trafficking, they say, but some women (and men) voluntarily enter the trade; they are consenting adults.

At this point, I’d argue, the would-be progressive has become a neo-liberal defending unbridled capitalism. An opponent of the minimum wage could argue that someone who has agreed to work 16 hours a day in a sweatshop for $2 an hour freely entered that relationship and that the state should not interfere. Anyone with a concern for human dignity, however, understands that the relationship is so grossly exploitative that it should not be allowed; that the sweatshop owner deserves punishment and not the worker, who is the victim of the arrangement; that the social conditions that drive people to accept such work should be addressed.

This seems to flawed to me in a couple of ways.

First, there appears to be an assumption that if we accept a laissez-faire attitude about the act then we must assume a laissez-faire attitude about the entire business arrangement. If working conditions in the factory are "sweat shop" conditions then we should address those. If working conditions in the local brothel are equally abysmall then we should address those as well. It doesn't mean that we should have no factories and likewise it doesn't mean that we shouldn't have brothels.

Second, obviously a progressive is interested in addressing "the social conditions that drive people to such work" as prostitution. That said there will undoubtedly be some people who choose such work of their own free will and volition. They will choose to work in the sex trade not out of duress but out of a rational economic decision. Of course we should address the social conditions but that will not eliminate prostitution.

Given that prostitution has significant staying power as an occupation (world's oldest profession and all that) I'm open to arguments for legalization, regulation and taxation.