The Morality of Gambling (Show 086)
Back from his trip to Seattle, Mosley returns this week to host the show. After querying the chat room for show topics, he and Arthur decide to discuss the morality of gambling.
Topics include: taking advantage of other people’s irrationality; gambling as not categorically immoral; gambling with false belief of luck vs. rational understanding or skill; gambling as possibly a form of rational recreation; gambling as skill or luck or combination of both; morality and responsibility of casino owners; analogy to bar owners and tobacco companies; fraud vs. asymmetric information; morality of card counting; stock markets and gambling; Arthur and Leonard Peikoff anecdote; playing the lotto.
Also, for those interested in the relevant topic of addiction, feel free to check out Show 056 where that is discussed (mp3, iTunes).
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I had a thought about the morality of gambling that I’m not sure I heard expressed during the podcast.
Some people gamble because they want to profit. Regardless of their skill or their understanding of the nuances of the game, that is a moral motivation (it might be unwise if they happen to be unskilled, or playing a game that is designed to defeat the player most of the time regardless of skill).
I know many people who gamble for this reason. Some are skilled, only play skill-centered games, and often come out ahead. Others recognize that they are not skilled, but are hoping to improve.
On the other hand, I know several people I consider rational to gamble with the understanding that they will never profit from it. I have a hypothesis as to why at least some of them do it. In a moral society, significant pressure is put on individuals to become wealthy through their own efforts. It’s a major responsibility, and the psychological impact when these efforts fail can be crushing. I think that some people gamble because they want to relinquish responsibility over their financial misfortune; they want not to be in control over the outcome of their efforts, because then when they lose, it wasn’t their fault.
If this is the mindset of anybody who gambles, I would say it is profoundly immoral. Viewed from that perspective, I would say that gambling is always moral if you take responsibility for your successes and failures as they come.