Abstract

This journal has frequently taken the position that /consent/, or at least /informed consent/, is all that from a secular viewpoint is necessary for an activity to be ethical. We argue to the contrary, that /consent/ is and /only/ is a /political/ criterion for determining /criminality/—even for a libertarian. Consensual behavior can be /unethical/—although it should not be criminalized—if the consent will never be truly revocable in the future of if such revocability is severely compromised. We give three examples, one from common experience, and two from the areas normally covered in this journal. Note: I was asked my the senior chief editor to limit categories to five, and have never exceeded (below) six, with one exception which has seven; proper fine-grained categorization of this piece would exceed ten categories, so I have done my best with five.