Decriminalized Prostitution: The Common Sense Solution

Rackets, #3

Prostitution is an issue in which nearly every person’s opinion is set in stone. Decriminalized Prostitution: The Common Sense Solution defies the odds, and its readers walk away with an entirely new perspective.

This is a timely release because sex work is now routinely conflated with human trafficking. A moral panic with similar patterns occurred roughly 100 years ago in the U.S. This book explains that the U.S. government is making the same mistakes from that era. Before then, prostitution was tolerated for most of American history; the details are fascinating. You’ll read about the historical events and social movements that prompted changing those laws.

This book leaves no doubt that criminalizing prostitution has been entirely counterproductive. Several foreign and domestic policy models are examined, including prohibition, legalization, the “Swedish model,” de facto toleration, sanctioned decriminalization, and more. Decriminalized Prostitution: The Common Sense Solution provides evidence-based recommendations to improve public health/safety and protect sex workers from exploitation and coercion.

Finding dependable information on this polarizing topic can be a difficult task, but the exhaustive research, meticulous documentation, and measured analysis by this author eliminate the controversy. In fact, some of the revelations in this book are absolutely shocking, particularly those involving human trafficking.

Decriminalized Prostitution: The Common Sense Solution is the third and final volume of Rackets. The conclusion of this book perfectly ties all three books together in a perfect ending for this incredibly impactful series. These three books make an unquestionable argument in favor of decriminalizing drugs, gambling, and prostitution. More important, this series goes far beyond these issues and serves as an indictment of our entire political system.

Editorial Review

Eternal Truth: People and institutions - including government - act in their own economic self-interest. (Sorry to shock you.) So that is how government, which is a huge special-interest group, has been acting - from its inception.

In that regard, things like mind-altering and sometimes addicting drugs, prostitution and gambling have always been present in every society. But if government makes them illegal, it spawns a big bureaucracy to enforce those laws of prohibition. And that necessarily increases the size, cost and power of government, which government likes. But if the products are regulated and controlled, then two things happen. First the Al Capones and pimps of those worlds will lose so much money that they will probably go out business and, second, those products will be delivered more safely, and will also be taxed. And through all of that, the amount of drugs, prostitution and gambling will most likely stay about the same. So what's not to like?

This is what Brian Saady shows so forcefully and completely in his trilogy - which is a strong and healthy addition to the "common wisdom." Read it, and you will agree.

Judge James P. Gray (Ret.)

Author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed" (Temple University Press, 2d edition, 2012) and 2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President.