Questionable Authority on Torts as incentive for moral Right

The Questionable Authority : Science Funding and Society: Final Thoughts:

In Torts We Do Not Trust:

Sandefur responded to my concerns about ensuring the public safety in the face of industrial actions by pointing to the existence of tort law as an incentive. That would be great, I suppose, but only if it worked. As quite a few peanut consumers can tell you, it doesn't. The details - and civil suits - aren't all in yet, but a considerable amount of evidence has surfaced that suggests that the owners and operators didn't care if their product was contaminated, as long as they got paid for it. Their company is now in bankruptcy. Most of the people they harmed will not be able to collect a red cent from them to compensate them for the harm they suffered.

But that's really beside the point.

The thing about torts as a method for preventing businesses from hurting their customers is that it only works if the business is actually worried about that particular consequence. The problem is that some people - including some business owners - are really, really good at ignoring future consequences in the face of immediate gain. It may well be that any truly rational business owner will worry about torts, but not every owner is going to be truly rational, and bad food products can kill. The peanuts are, again, a case in point. The owners and operators of the plant do not appear to have been concerned by the possibility of future lawsuits. They do not even seem to have been deterred by the possibility that they were committing criminal acts. Tort law did not prevent the incidents, and I find it difficult to see how it could have.

Regulation and inspection - if effectively carried out - are a solution to this problem that can keep caskets empty. Tort law is a threat of a possible, but not definite, consequence if they're filled. I take more comfort from knowing that there's some non-zero chance that the health department will inspect the restaurant I'm eating at before I get there than I do from knowing that my children might be able to recover damages from the owner if I die.