Unintended consequences
From Seenoevil
Unitended Consequences
From Wikipedia [1]
The Law of Unintended Consequences holds that almost all human actions have at least one unintended consequence. In other words, each cause has more than one effect, including unforeseen effects. The idea dates to the Scottish Enlightenment, which influenced people such as Thomas Jefferson. In the twentieth century, sociologist Robert K. Merton once again popularized the concept, sometimes referred to as the Law of Unforeseen Consequences. Merton (1936) spoke of the "unanticipated consequences" of "purposive social action", emphasizing that his term "purposive action… [is exclusively] concerned with "conduct" as distinct from "behavior". That is, with action which involves motives and consequently a choice between various alternatives" (p.895).
Unintended consequnces happen when a measure is taken which may lead to results which run counter to the initial intention. A good example is complex tax laws, which can create tax loop-holes, which are exploited to avoid tax, rather than create a fairer tax system.
The socioligist Robert K Merton, divised the five causes of unintended consequences:
- Ignorance (It is impossible to anticipate everything)
- Error (Incomplete analysis of the problem, or following habits that worked in the past but may not apply to the current situation)
- Immediate interest which may override long-term interests
- Basic values may require or prohibit certain actions, even if the long-term result might be unfavorable (these long-term consequences may eventually cause changes in basic values)
- Self-defeating prophecy (Fear of some consequence drives people to find solutions before the problem occurs, thus the non-occurrence of the problem is unanticipated)
The first two can be applied to the Violent Pornography legislation. The Government may be concerned about violent pornography's effects on society, but banning it may (assuming there is a link - unproven) create a criminal underworld, much as American Prohibition in the 1930's created the Mob.
Recommendation 54 was a submission against poorly worded legislation intended to make "flashing", among other sexual offences, an offence in it's own right. The submissions were made by Naturist groups who from the past experience of it's members, knew that Naturists were sometimes arrested by police who did not fully understand the intentions of the legislation.
