Iranian sanctions

[Goofball]

Refusing to do business hurts the population rather than the clique in charge. They're not deprived of just commercial goods that we're so accustomed to but they're deprived of basic stuff, like food, medicines, heat, roof and so on, and those who set up the sanctions are very much aware of that. They're purposefully depriving the population of that stuff so they would rise against their rulers and depose them or force them to change their policy, acutely aware that the sanctions may cause severe hardships to ordinary people and even deaths.

Terrorist attacks also target ordinary people with the idea it would force people to change their governments or at least force them to change their policy.

The basic concept is the same. In fact, people in dictatorships are completely innocent. They didn't elect Saddam or the Ayatollah. No one asked their opinion or approval, it was forced upon them unlike in democracies where citizens directly give the mandate to a certain government. It could be argued that citizens in democracies are more legitimate targets than those in dictatorships.

The basic concept is not the same, nor is the morality.

If a person takes actions that you believe are threatening to you or are not in accordance with your views, you are well within your rights to isolate yourself from them and have no more social or economic relations with them. You are not, however, within your rights to murder one of their children while they sleep in order to bring them around to your way of thinking.

I'll ask you again: are you saying terrorism is a valid tool to use to implement social or political change?