Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“One of the puzzling things about certain political and cultural conflicts is how strongly people feel about them. I can understand why some people would prefer that homosexuals not be permitted to marry, find it harder to understand why they care so much about it. Similarly for same sex couples adopting. Similarly for polygamy. And similarly — I think the most interesting case — for attitudes towards transsexuals, individuals who have undergone a sex change operation. In each case, the question is why A cares so much about what B, or B and C, or even B, C, D, and E are doing. I have a conjecture about part of the answer. The world is a complicated place. One way in which we deal with that complication, in law and thought, is by representing a complicated reality with a much simpler model.” (06/25/26)