Question

For laws against shoplifting, pick at least one of the four grounds for justification—legal moralism, the harm principle, legal paternalism, and the offense principle—and construct an argument designed to justify the law. You may not agree either with the law or with the argument; the exercise is to see if you can connect the law to the (allegedly) justifying principle.

Answer 1

One of the grounds for justification of laws is the harm principle. The harm principle states that the actions of individuals should be prevented when these actions harm others. This is known as the harm principle.

In the case of shoplifting, we can argue that this action harms others. When we shoplift, we damage the owner of the store, as this means that he will lose out on the profits that would have come from the sale of a product. Moreover, this means that other people who were willing to pay for the product will also lose the opportunity to enjoy it. Therefore, shoplifting should be prohibited according to the harm principle.