As Steven Pinker has argued, “human dignity” is a squishy phrase used to smuggle in all kinds of baseless taboos and prohibitions.29 We can count the number of victims of sexual violence, but we can’t measure the loss in human dignity that occurs when a person sells their body. We can’t even agree that human dignity is a thing, or that prostitution is an affront to that dignity. If we are each responsible for our own moral laws, then we have no right to impose a value like “human dignity” on another person, even if we believe it’s for their own good. But measurable harm is a different matter
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