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I think it's important for the infrastructure of a nation to make sure that all of its citizens are as well kept as possible. I don't think it's morality at all, any more than punishing someone for committing murder.
I'd say both are forcing someone to adhere to an external moral code with which they may not agree, be it the miser or the murderer, (though admittedly the latter has more direct consequences on others).

There are those who argue that mercy is not the responsibility of the rich at all and feel it is very much an infringement to force them to do so. Once again, Ayn Rand was pretty clear on this point. Of course, her logic was flawed in so many ways I don’t know where to begin, but it makes the point (in my mind) that we are talking about an issue of morality- she felt other’s morals were being placed upon her, as do those who still follow in her footsteps.

I do agree that the health of a nation is important, which means keeping its citizens as well as possible. That is the reason the above was only a hypothetical. However, there are those who would argue that drinking (or at least drunkenness) is unhealthy, and therefore should be outlawed. At some point you have to draw the line between personal liberty and the health of the nation's people. I agree with that, and I'd say you do too. But I think in each case it's an example of the morals of the majority being placed on some minority (murderers, misers, drinkers). Which begs the greater question (and what I’m driving at): how does a society determine what morals to enforce upon its people?

I know this seems to be straying from the topic at hand, but it’s something I think about when I think of the role of government (in social programs and beyond). At what point is the government ensuring the health of the nation’s population and at what point is it overreaching into the lives of citizens and enforcing morality that it shouldn’t?
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.