Big Government

Don't Legislate Morality: Most Americans Can't Agree on What's Immoral

Most matters enjoy too little moral agreement to make fertile ground for government intervention.

J.D. Tuccille | 3.25.2026 7:00 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

The moral argument for not making laws about many—especially victimless—activities is that people have a right to live their own lives so long as they don't hurt anybody else. That's a convincing case for those of us who naturally gravitate to a live-and-let-live take on life. But it's unpersuasive to the growing ranks of those inclined to control freakery in these illiberal times, and who believe the state should step in to control bad things. The strongest rebuttal to the authoritarian case is that people so vigorously disagree as to what constitutes "bad" that efforts to regulate a whole host of activities invite noncompliance. Recent polling provides evidence that Americans disagree on many issues.

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First, a Little Common Ground

When it comes to what constitutes an immoral activity, Americans have some common ground. According to recent Pew Research polling, 90 percent of us believe it's immoral for married people to have an extramarital affair. Two percent say it's morally acceptable and 7 percent believe it's not a moral issue at all. That low opinion of cheating is shared by 93 percent of Republicans and 88 percent of Democrats. At least 90 percent of Catholics, Protestants, and Jews agree. Eighty-nine percent of men and 91 percent of women concur, and at least 89........

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