Liberty and Rights

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Liberty and Rights
by OC Cunz

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What do you think?

• What is the difference between liberty and
  rights?

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Definitions

• Liberty
• In short is one among many Human Rights or
  Derechos Humanos (Burke)
• The positive enjoyment of various social,
  political, or economic rights and privileges
• The limits within which a certain amount of
  freedom may be exercised.
• Rights
• Justifiable claim laid by one individual upon
  another or upon society in general (Laws)
• Paternalism
• Interference with a persons liberty of action
  justified by reasons referring exclusively to the
  welfare, good, happiness, needs, interests or
  values of the person being coerced.

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Liberty and Rights What are they?

• Liberty
• Self-Determination
• Political / reasonably free from external
  political constraint
• Social / self-determination

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Liberty and Rights What are they?

• Rights
• Natural Rights As per our nations founding
  documents
• Stoic Philosophy Whatever happens, it is by
  divine will
• Natural Law Keeping with human nature
• Human Rights
• Political guarantees respecting the freedoms of
  individuals
• Is a prerogative, granted by law pertaining to
  citizens of that nation living under that law.

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Liberty and Rights What are they?

• Right to work
• Right to be paid for work
• Right to a speedy trial
• Political Rights
• US Constitution and its Amendments
• Right to vote

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Liberty and Rights

• - Liberty and Rights are somewhat like oxygen.
  Its difficult for people to know for sure what
  they really are until they are deprived of them.

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John Stuart Mill

• Utilitarian Centric Perspective
• The ultimate appeal on all ethical questions
• Liberty of Thought and Discussion
• Liberty of Individuality
• Limits of Authority of Society
• Applications
• The only warranted infringement upon ones
  liberty is solely for self-protection

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Edmund Burke

• Liberty must be balanced with established
  tradition
• Liberty has to be constrained somewhat or there
  will be chaos
• Need to control individuals
• Paternalism - community should decide what is best

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Is REAL liberty purchased?

• Be sure real liberty is purchased at no other
  price
• Is there a free government?
• Is there a price of liberty?
• Can elected officials really run a free Govt
• Reps of the constituents
• Burke
• Supposed to LEAD? -or- be instruments?
• Burke finds middle ground
• Let us add, if we please, but let us preserve
  what they have left -text pp343

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James W. Nickel

• - Human Rights
• - Right holder The person who benefits from or
  are protected by the right
• - Addressee The ones upon whom the right imposes
  obligations or duty

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Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• - U.S. has not ratified these treaties -
• - Adopted in 1948 by UN general assembly
• - If not binding is it cause to go to war over
  
• infractions?
• - If it is cause for war
• Are they criminals for what they were doing?
• Are they war criminals to be tried as such?

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Universal Declaration Articles

• No arbitrary detention
• Japanese internment camps?
• Guantanamo detainees?
• Fair and Public Trial
• Can you really give Manson/Hitler/Sadam a fair
  trial by a jury of peers?

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International Treaties/Laws

• Are you bound to International Treaties and Laws
  that your country does not ratify?
• Can you try members of foreign nations who commit
  crimes based on International Treaties their
  country has not ratified?

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Inalienable Rights

• People are born with certain rights afforded them
  by being of the human race.
• Nickel says
• Also means these rights cant be bargained away
  by the right holders
• What about legally waived rights (5th Amendment)
  in exchange for cooperation (lesser sentencing)

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Gerald Dworkin

• - Paternalism Interference with a persons
  liberty of action justified by reasons referring
  exclusively to the welfare, good, happiness,
  needs, interests or values of the person being
  coerced.

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Interference in the liberty of Action

• Self protection or the protection of others
• the individuals own good is never a sufficient
  warrant for the exercise of compulsion.

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Death Penalty

• Assuming
• Costs associated with administering the death
  penalty were not astronomical
• Appeals did not take 20 years
• Is prescribing the death sentence warranted for
  an individual who has been sentenced to life
  without parole for their crimes?
• Keep in mind Killing the felon does not reduce
  the threat of the individual nor does it increase
  the protection of the populous.

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Paternalistic Interferences

• Laws requiring license to engage in certain
  professions
• Laws against dueling (Article 114 UCMJ)
• Laws making suicide a criminal offense
• Not allowing assumption of risk as a defense to
  an action based on the violation of a safety
  statute
• Not allowing as a defense to a charge of murder
  or assault the consent of the victim
• - Discussion Who rides a motorcycle?

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Laws against Dueling

• Why?
• Acting of their own free will both are acting
  in self defense with no intent of harming anyone
  not in the duel.
• What about Dr. Kevorkian?
• Euthanasia?
• Painless taking of a life to end suffering
• Terri Schiavo
• Abortion?

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Pure vs. Impure Paternalism

• Pure class of persons whose freedom is
  restricted is identical with the class of persons
  whose benefit is intended.
• Impure restricting freedom of others in the
  effort to increase the protection of a class of
  persons.
• 40 hr work week?
• What about salaried employees?
• Are they a consenting victim assuming the risk or
  is it a loop-hole?

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Killing to stop a Murder

• Is the man who kills to stop a murder in
  violation?
• At what point do we assume too much
  responsibility for the determination of the
  welfare of others?
• - Mill Left to themselves, greed will rule.
  Everyone acting in their own self interest
  degenerates the commons, need some sort of
  governing body to regulate and conserve the
  commons.
• - Individual interests are in conflict with
  the common good

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Man-Tracking Proposed

• Human GPS tracking devices embedded at birth as
  crime reduction tactic.
• Ignoring
• Technical aspects (say you could not detect them
  for retrieval)
• Religious aspects (mark of the beast, etc.)
• Kidnapping, lost children, criminal apprehension,
  POW locations, etc.
• WERE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLES LIVES HERE!!!

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Does self-determination have a place?

• - Self determination greed
• (Freedom to not wear a helmet)
• Restriction is a lesser of two evils than the bad
  outcome and is therefore justifiable.
• Paternalism is justifiable only to preserve a
  wider range of freedom for the individual in
  question.
• If you booze you loose

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Fin

• Questions?