Artworks vs. Life of Assange
An activist threatens to destroy some
prized works of art
if the UK does not free Julian Assange.
I support that goal, but I think that method is misguided and harmful
because it uses the art works as hostages.
How so? It is not a threat against the owners of those art
works. They have given him permission to destroy them for his
protest, and legally that may be sufficient for him to avoid criminal
charges. But the permission of the owner is not morally
sufficient. These paintings are part of the heritage of humanity, and
humanity too has a right to protect them.
More deeply, it is an error to take the construct of property rights
for the sole and total basis for judgment of right and wrong. It is
useful to have a concept of property, and useful to legally protect
property to some extent. But destroying art works would also do wrong
to the rest of us who do not own them. Including those of us who
advocate freeing Assange.
The importance of these paintings to humanity is not a direct
consequence of their market value. Rather, their market value
reflects the idea that they are important.