Why We Don’t Kidnap Shane Gillis (and What That Teaches Us About Consent)

Shane Gillis is a very funny man. He is a talented and thoughtful person who is, without a doubt, doing something unique with his creative ability. As a comedian, Shane Gillis provides a service that improves health, happiness, and fulfillment.

Laughter is important. Studies done by the Mayo Clinic, among many others, have shown that laughter can have therapeutic effects. Laughter can stimulate your organs, soothe tension and improve your immune system. It can make humans feel better in the short term and have long-term benefits on our mental, social, and physical health.

If every single person were laughing more every single day, we would see measurable improvements in the quality of life for all people.

Shane could, arguably, provide those benefits to almost everyone.

Despite all the good that could come of doing so, it would still be wrong to kidnap Shane Gillis, lock him up in the basement, and force him to perform a free live-streamed comedy show for the rest of the world. This would be wrong, even if the life of every other single person would be improved.

We don’t get to violate consent,
even to save and heal the world.

Shane doesn’t have rights just because he’s talented, funny, or uniquely wealthy. Shane Gillis has rights because he’s a human being. He was born with these rights. Just like everyone else.

The foundation of liberty is simple: No person or institution may justly initiate force against another. Without consent, there is no legitimacy.

But when was the last time you gave affirmative consent for how your labor is spent?

The idea of kidnapping Shane Gillis to make the world laugh is outrageous—and yet when the same principle is applied through softer, more polite forms of coercion, many accept it without question.

However, there’s no special exception to the Natural Principle of Human Respect for part-time violence against others, or just a little bit of theft. Theft and violence always reduce happiness, harmony, and prosperity.

Always.

The Illusion of a Greater Good

There are several justifications given for the use of force and violence against other human beings. Generally, these fall under the heading of a “common” or a “greater good.” At best, the common good is a murky average of what each individual defines as good for themselves. To achieve a “common good,” decreasing happiness, harmony, and prosperity isn’t just a byproduct, but a necessity.

You wouldn’t kidnap your friends and family to extract their talents, why accept it when a government does it in your name?

Using what has been extracted from you in the name of a common good, government officials offer one-size-fits-all “solutions” and subject some people to violence and theft. In other words, Shane Gillis ends up kidnapped for the benefit of others, at least part-time, and so do you.

We’re talking about human beings, and whether it’s Shane Gillis or you, every single human being has Value. There’s no one else like you in the history of humanity, in the present, or who will ever exist in the future ever again. You are a unique expression of consciousness manifested in a physical space, and only you can pursue your happiness.

Given this opportunity, what will you choose to create, and with who?

Your unique individuality is key to working with others toward a more prosperous world. Where force and coercion erode their own gains, respecting the consent of other human beings is the most sustainable way to achieve greater ends.

Shane Gillis, again, is a wonderful example. Shane creates amazing, hysterical, life-improving, joyful comedy. I can often access those for free via social media or podcasts, or I can pay to see his performances.

Shane provides and earns Value without violating consent. He does not claim that I should be forced to pay him, and Shane wakes up every morning knowing that he makes money by providing something others believe to have Value. We could stop watching and he is, at all times, free to pursue something else (though I hope he doesn’t.)

That voluntary exchange is a better option than mandates from DC, state capitols, and town hall bureaucrats. When taken by force, government officials claim a special privilege that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.

No special exception exists for bureaucrats or politicians to violate consent. When they initiate violence, or diminish wealth by force or fraud, they diminish happiness, harmony, and prosperity – undercutting sustainable and respectful advancement of our species.

There are better ways to attain a brighter future. We can produce housing, food, healthcare, satisfaction and each of the other elements of our wellbeing and happiness in consensual ways.

If Shane Gillis’s consent matters, shouldn’t yours be just as sacred? What does it say about our values when we accept force in our statehouse, but not in our homes?

This article uses Shane Gillis as a thought experiment example, chosen for his talent in bringing joy through comedy. No endorsement of the views presented should be inferred.