Ahh...but sometimes it is. Depends on what you whip.
I had a case once where I was whipping a unit or building, i don't remember. If it was a unit it would have made an MP, and if it was a building it would have been a temple. Anyways, I whipped them, and opened the city up to deal with the unhappiness. Turns out there wasn't any, because of the effects by the new unit/improvement. So under certain conditions whipping is as good as starving, because getting an MP or happiness improvement offsets it.
So if that city was hooked up to your trade network, and you had all 8 lux's...whipping a marketplace would cause however many citizens to go unhappy, but create 12 happy faces. So win-win there.
I had a case once where I was whipping a unit or building, i don't remember. If it was a unit it would have made an MP, and if it was a building it would have been a temple. Anyways, I whipped them, and opened the city up to deal with the unhappiness. Turns out there wasn't any, because of the effects by the new unit/improvement. So under certain conditions whipping is as good as starving, because getting an MP or happiness improvement offsets it.
So if that city was hooked up to your trade network, and you had all 8 lux's...whipping a marketplace would cause however many citizens to go unhappy, but create 12 happy faces. So win-win there.