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[return to "Legalizing sports gambling was a mistake"]
1. keifer+yW1[view] [source] 2024-09-27 06:26:26
>>jimbob+(OP)
This, along with innumerable other things like lifting the ban on usurious interest rates, is ultimately a consequence of the same phenomenon Nietzsche describes as “the death of God.”

We have forgotten the deeper reasons that certain things were prohibited or discouraged, assuming that these rules were only there because of a belief in a religion society doesn’t follow anymore. That was a naive view and it turns out that many “old” rules are actually pragmatic social codes disguised as beliefs. This isn’t limited to a particular tradition, either: pretty much every major religion has frowned upon things like gambling.

And so in the absence of any real coherent philosophy that aims to deal with complex problems like gambling, addiction, or excessive interest rates, you’re only going to get an expansion of what is already dominant: markets.

Don’t expect this to change until knowledge of ethics and philosophy becomes widespread enough to establish a new mental model for thinking about these issues.

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2. hgomer+0X1[view] [source] 2024-09-27 06:29:50
>>keifer+yW1
What are usurious interest rates? Is some amount of interest ok?
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3. fdfgyu+ux2[view] [source] 2024-09-27 11:46:49
>>hgomer+0X1
Depends who you ask. Historically, no amount of compound interest was allowed because it is immoral to receive what is not yours.

Then, in the Middle Ages, Catholic theologians added nuance introducing a concept of time value of money - ie when you lend out $100 you also lose the ability to use that $100 for the time of the loan. The concept of a small interest rate was adopted.

Which is fine, except it opened the flood gates until we eventually got the high interest rates we have today.

What makes our rates usurious? That they are issued with the issuer knowing the principal will never be paid off.

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