I was watching TV earlier flipping through the channels and came across the movie, "Gladiator." Although the gladiators in the Roman Empire era were generally prisoners of wars, slaves, or forced participants in the combat for entertainment, there were some voluntary participants in the action as well. Therefore, I was pondering the fact (a bit cynical, I know) that this might, perhaps, develop in a free society.
So, would it be within the confines of a free society to allow voluntary human combat battles like the ones in the Colosseum in Rome? What about enlisting convicted murderers in this type of service? I realize that this in a bit unusual, but what would be wrong with two willing and voluntary participants engaging in battles to the death?
FunkedUp:Therefore, I was pondering the fact (a bit cynical, I know) that this might, perhaps, develop in a free society.
FunkedUp:So, would it be within the confines of a free society to allow voluntary human combat battles like the ones in the Colosseum in Rome?
FunkedUp:What about enlisting convicted murderers in this type of service?
FunkedUp:I realize that this in a bit unusual, but what would be wrong with two willing and voluntary participants engaging in battles to the death?
"It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half-wit and the emperor remains an emperor." ~Dream
FunkedUp:So, would it be within the confines of a free society to allow voluntary human combat battles like the ones in the Colosseum in Rome? What about enlisting convicted murderers in this type of service?
So, would it be within the confines of a free society to allow voluntary human combat battles like the ones in the Colosseum in Rome? What about enlisting convicted murderers in this type of service?
Any business (since that's what we're talking about here) that wanted to do that would probably have a helluva lot of liability issues to deal with.
FunkedUp: I realize that this in a bit unusual, but what would be wrong with two willing and voluntary participants engaging in battles to the death?
I realize that this in a bit unusual, but what would be wrong with two willing and voluntary participants engaging in battles to the death?
Nothing at all, but there would have to be some very substantial evidence that all participants were willing. So, again, liability. With our modern propensity to sue, it would only get worse in voluntary death scenarios.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.
There's been discussion of this very activity as a way to bring revenue to libertarian seasteading outposts. JS-S makes a great point above, though, about how risky this could be.
Setting aside the question of whether this would be permissible, any culture that glorifies combat, physical force, barbarism, militancy, etc. is not going to be libertarian for very long.
See the Herbert Spencer quote on professional sports here.
LibertarianAnarchy.com - Government is immoral, unnecessary, and doesn't work!
Sage:Setting aside the question of whether this would be permissible, any culture that glorifies combat, physical force, barbarism, militancy, etc. is not going to be libertarian for very long.
Perhaps so, but the existence of displays like these would be due to such glorification, not the other way around.
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