So why has gambling become so socially acceptable? It would seem that the pro-gambling argument is the ethical norm that the majority of the population embraces. As long as an action doesn't harm another person, it ought to be permitted.
It certainly highlights how the rights of the individual trump any claim of the common good in 21st-century America.
Richard A. McGowan, S.J., is a professor at the Carroll School of Management of Boston College and author of the upcoming book "The Gambling Debate."