If you ask most economists their view on morality, most will point to it as a simple external rule or a fixed rule that restricts people's behavior in a market.
But in a nutshell, our feelings of guilt, fairness, and honor as humans often create our economic choices and drive demand and resource allocation in the market, rather than an external force or rules.
Between looking for heroin and looking for a hitman, both are illegal, but:
Which would land you in trouble faster?
Which of them do you think is more acceptable in society?
I traveled to a small town located in Northern Nigeria. After settling in, I decided to explore the beautiful places in the town. I entered a small corner bar on the street and ordered a few pieces of meat and a bottle of alcohol.
After drinking I decided to join the ongoing conversation with some group of people around there, and I drew the attention of a guy named Musa, and I secretly asked him if he knew a place I could get heroin.
He seemed not to understand me at first till I made a hand gesture of a smoker; that's when he understood and said, "Ohh, you want to buy brown sugar" (local name for heroin). Don't worry; I will direct you to the place."
Musa asked that I should follow him, which I did, and he took me to some not good-looking guys along the street. After he talked to the guys for some seconds, I could see them warning him if he was sure I was not law enforcement or police, but Musa convinced them that I'm not either.
I was asked to bring around #14,000 which is just a little bit above $10, and a little sachet was handed over to me, and Musa led me out of there.
This little incident made me wonder how easy it is to get some illegal substance compared to others.
Imagine if I were looking to hire a hitman or a killer in an unknown town. Would Musa lead me to a hitman or to the police? 90% of the time you will end up in the local law enforcement cell or custody if you go about asking the locals questions about hiring a contract killer.
The question is why society treats drug addiction differently than murder.
This shows that law alone, which acts as an external factor or a guiding principle, doesn't decide what is moral, but human behavior to some certain commodities, their feelings, emotions, and societal acceptance play a huge role in deciding morality.
In conclusion, morality is a huge player in market demand, and therefore the question of
What is moral or not shouldn't just be decided by what the law says or what is legal or not legal.