Let’s bring back stigma and shame

The Turkish government recently announced that it intended to make adultery a criminal offence. This was not altogether surprising, since the Turkish government adheres to the principles of Islam, under whose laws adultery is a crime punishable by flogging or execution. Nevertheless, it caused such uproar among more progressive Turks, not to mention horrifying the EU, which threatened to tear up Turkey’s membership application as a result, that the Turkish government has now binned the proposal (perversely, along with a raft of reforms designed to impress the jittery Europeans; but let that pass).

So far, so relatively unexceptional. What was far less predictable, at least to me, was the reaction of the editor of The Spectator, who invited me to write an article which would not only support Turkey’s modest but now defunct proposal but recommend that Britain should follow this inspiring example and ban adultery, too.

In vain did I protest that banning adultery was a seriously bad idea, that I would never for a moment entertain such a proposition and was startled that he should imagine that I would.