How might gun ownership help a society? Well, it depends on the society doesn't it? Take Switzerland, for instance, which doesn't really have a standing army but inducts citizens into the militia and requires them to keep their firearms at home so they can mobilize quickly in the event of a crisis. I'd say there's a pretty strong benefit to their society (i.e. defense of the nation) in that case.

But I think @dystopianfuturetoday was probably asking about the benefits to a society in the U.S., where gun ownership is optional but also so prevalent So I'll focus on that area.

1) As has already been mentioned, from an economic standpoint, society benefits from the sale of guns and their related items through both taxes and levies and through the provision of jobs for those who produce guns, sell guns, or manage gun ranges. I have absolutely no idea exactly how big or small this benefit is in the U.S. but it certainly exists.

2) Armed citizens can (and do) stop "dangerous situations" from happening long before first responders have a chance to arrive and in some cases before they even have a chance to be notified. "Dangerous situations" here refers not only to crime but attacks by wild animals in rural areas.

3) Deterrence. Certain types of crime become much more risky to the professional criminal if you have to assume everyone is armed at all times.

Given these potential benefits to society, the question really then becomes do these benefits outweigh the costs to society? And also, what of the benefits to the individual? Certainly these must be weighed as well. CNN contributor David Frum wrote an interesting piece last year exploring these issues. You can find it here.

Great article. I wish VS had a place to post article links. >> ^NetRunner:

Forgive the drive by commenting @blankfist, but David Frum has pretty much what my response to this will be: http://www.frumforum.com/dont-get-punked-keynes-won-this-rap-battle

>> ^NetRunner:

Forgive the drive by commenting @blankfist, but David Frum has pretty much what my response to this will be: http://www.frumforum.com/dont-get-punked-keynes-won-this-rap-battle



I'ma let you finish, but Hernando de Soto Polar is one of the more interesting economists in the world!

Forgive the drive by commenting @blankfist, but David Frum has pretty much what my response to this will be: http://www.frumforum.com/dont-get-punked-keynes-won-this-rap-battle

David Frum was a speechwriter for G.W.Bush and phrased 'the axis of evil' narrative. His credibility as his speeches should be a fiction.

Paul Krugman in the NYT:

Where’s that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let’s not make a false pretense of balance: it’s coming, overwhelmingly, from the right. It’s hard to imagine a Democratic member of Congress urging constituents to be “armed and dangerous” without being ostracized; but Representative Michele Bachmann, who did just that, is a rising star in the G.O.P. And there’s a huge contrast in the media. Listen to Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, and you’ll hear a lot of caustic remarks and mockery aimed at Republicans. But you won’t hear jokes about shooting government officials or beheading a journalist at The Washington Post. Listen to Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly, and you will.

Of course, the likes of Mr. Beck and Mr. O’Reilly are responding to popular demand. Citizens of other democracies may marvel at the American psyche, at the way efforts by mildly liberal presidents to expand health coverage are met with cries of tyranny and talk of armed resistance. Still, that’s what happens whenever a Democrat occupies the White House, and there’s a market for anyone willing to stoke that anger… the purveyors of hate have been treated with respect, even deference, by the G.O.P. establishment. As David Frum, the former Bush speechwriter, has put it, “Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us and now we’re discovering we work for Fox.” So will the Arizona massacre make our discourse less toxic? It’s really up to G.O.P. leaders

I was surprised to find out that David Frum is originally Canadian and is the son of the late CBC journalist Barbara Frum. He even volunteered as a New Democratic Party campaigner when he was 14!

@Psychologic, David Frum is a fantastic counterexample (and the one I expected someone to raise when I made my initial comment). Yes, it was obviously hyperbole, and I'm sure that in a party as big as the Republican party is, you could dig until you found a reasonable person.

However, David Frum isn't actually employed by the Republican party anymore, nor is he particularly well known. He just lost his job at the conservative think tank he was working for, and it's pretty obvious that it was because of his recent criticisms of the Republican party's tactics. I interpret that as "he was too reasonable, so the Republicans severed ties with him".

I'm sure there are other reasonable retired Republicans, or former staff members, and present employees of conservative think tanks.

However, I will say that none of the Congressional leadership, none of the party leadership, and none of the media stars of the right are doing anything to tamp down the violent rhetoric. In fact, most of them seem to be trying to dial it up.

Mostly though, I thought that was wholly laughable that someone would hold up Glenn Beck as a voice of reason against the violence. Especially coming from someone who I have some respect for as a thoughtful and reasonable person!

^NetRunner:
Of course Beck says "please don't use violence" every now and then, otherwise it would be so obvious what he's doing that even the brain dead news media will start to take notice.


Ah, my mistake... I forgot that "every part" meant 85%.

Weren't you the one posting links to David Frum, or does he not count?

Hot off the press: David Frum and the American Enterprise Institute part ways.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/25/david-frum-aei-split-cons_n_513544.html

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

David Frum is more of an NPR republican than a FOX news republican.


So he's literate?

David Frum is more of an NPR republican than a FOX news republican.

Who's this David Frum character? He sounds reasoned and articulate - are you sure he's a Republican?

This from David Frum? Take note Reactionaries... one of your own is speaking truth. The end is nigh.

From left-wing blogger David Frum's website... " What kind of a man eats his hamburger without ketchup? That was the big question yesterday on talk radio, after President Obama visited an Arlington, Virginia, hamburger place on Tuesday and ordered his burger with spicy mustard.

First answer: Texans.

Texans traditionally eat hamburgers with mustard or with mayonnaise (or with both), but without ketchup. This is simply called a “hamburger” in Texas, but is sometimes called a “Cowboy Burger” or a “Texas Burger” outside of Texas.

A hamburger with ketchup is sometimes called a “Yankee Burger.” A hamburger with mayonnaise is sometimes called a “Sissy Burger.”

Dirty Martin’s (in Austin since 1926) serves hamburgers with mustard, pickles, onions, and tomatoes, but it is not known when this combination began. The popular Texas “Whataburger” hamburger chain has served hamburgers with mustard from its founding (1950). The hamburger-with-mustard combination in Texas is attested at least from the 1950s, but the pre-1950s hamburger condiments cannot be firmly established.

Second answer: Republicans. A 2000 survey of members of Congress by the National Hot Dog Council found that 73% of Republican lawmakers preferred mustard to ketchup, as opposed to 47% of Democratic lawmakers.

Final answer: traditionalists. Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, the restaurant widely believed to have served the first hamburgers ever made in the United States, absolutely forbids ketchup.

Next question?"