Should Begging Be Legal?

In what circumstances should begging be legal in a liberal society?

The civil right to per se ask people for money is not purely a freedom of speech matter because the beggar is asking someone else to do something. However, if the begging is not intimidating, what is being asked of the other person is a very small action, en par with requests in a host of acceptable social transactions. It is merely a small request, which the other party can simply refuse.

Are there circumstances in which a request which can be refused should not be allowed? How about walking up to women (and men) on the street and offering them $100 to suck your cock?

The reason this is not allowed in current liberal societies is because the vast majority of people would not only find the request highly offensive, but intimidating, even were it made very politely. In fact, the asker could be arrested and charged with offensive behaviour or public nuisance. Perhaps in some future society eg. the utopian Fingertonia, it will not be such an unusual request, but it clearly is today.

My point here is that a request made of a complete stranger should be legal even if a negligible proportion of people would accede to it, as long as it is not offensive or intimidating to a material percentage of people.

Suppose two people with a microphone and video camera came up to you and said: “Hey! We’re filming for a new TV show and we need someone to let us pour baked beans all over them for a skit. Do you want to do it?”

The vast majority of people would say “no”. A few might even be offended or worried. But if the request was made in a jovial way, most people would laugh and walk on. Very few of us would think such conduct should be illegal.

Well, if that shouldn’t be illegal, why should a polite, non-aggressive request for money?

The argument that begging embarrasses the society and therefore should be illegal belongs in a conservative philosophy, not liberalism. If people are begging because they are out of work and there is clearly insufficient state support, a liberal society should be embarrassed. If some people are begging because they are lazy, a liberal society should be sufficiently confident to not find this embarrassing in the first place: a large population will always produce some bludgers.

The question of whether begging should be legal in a philosophy of liberalism is distinct from whether or not people should beg or give money to beggars.

Almost all liberal societies recognize the need for the state to provide unemployment benefits and aged and disability pensions. This is because we see that often, people lose their jobs because their company goes out of business. They have no control over this. Many people who are disabled are born that way or become so as a result of accidents, often with another party at fault. Some people are just too old to work.

The citizens of liberal societies will consequently pay taxes toward social security. Political debate is not about the existence of social security, but the amount and scope of benefits.

Even if you think begging should be legal in a liberal society, whether you believe people should actually beg depends on whether or not you think the social security is adequate. That means two things. Firstly, that benefits are sufficient and secondly, that sufficient misadventures are caught by the safety net. Suppose someone has a rare disease whose treatment is not covered by the public health system or insurance. Is it OK for them to beg?

I bloody well would. Whether you do it on the street or on the internet just depends on your level of education and self respect.

If your personal view is that the beggar in question is undeserving, then just refuse. It’s not hard. People need to be strong about this. Don’t cave in and give some scab money because you’re too gutless to handle even minor confrontation. That’s what the beggar is relying on.

If enough people just say “no” and walk on, begging will become not worth the effort. That’s how a mature, liberal society should react to begging if it becomes annoying.

Last year there was an old lady who stood begging on a very high traffic corner near my office. She looked at least 80. I felt sorry for her and gave her the $1 I had in change. I saw her again a few days later, so I gave her what change I had.

Then I saw her the next day. She recognized me and held out her wicker basket. I just said: “It’s not a job, love.”

This is my point. I initially felt sorry for her because she was obviously too decrepit to work. Clearly, so did a lot of other people. Then she started seeing begging as a job, which they all will if rewarded. So I stopped giving her money.

If everyone does the same, begging won’t be worth the effort. This is how a liberal society should combat begging if we don’t want people to beg: subtly and maturely. There is no need for a general law.

What should be illegal in a liberal society is invasive begging. This not only means being persistent or aggressive, but also sitting in a thoroughfare.

The above means the beggar’s behaviour is unreasonably deleterious to others’ amenity. Liberalism is not just about civil rights; it is equally about civic duties. The balance between the two is what is intended to facilitate social cohesion. Citizens have the duty not to unreasonably impose their behaviour on others, so that those others can exercise their right to freedom of speech, action and movement. This includes not being pestered by fuckwits.