American Public Safety Which of these spheres should be granted more devotion, the public safety or our own individual selves? Individualism became an issue when we as people began increasingly to demand more individual freedom and started to place more value on self-chosen individual achievement over mandated national achievement. Ever since these ideas were formed into governmental ideology, as John Locke first did, conceptions of individual and civil rights and duties have come into conflict in matters of public policy. (Campbell, p. 39) They have not so much conflicted on the grounds of their incompatibility. More frequently they have caused disputes as to where the respective boundaries of each should lie, and/or which should be given greater respect by people and their governments. Several issues arise whenever attempting to address the questions of public safety, bureaucracy and individual rights. The most important the issue is that of rights and duties. What are rights and duties? Are they related? What are the different kinds of rights that exist in a Liberal society, which ones are more important, and who should be given these rights? What determines eligibility for receiving these various rights, how does this relate to the issue of equality? One must first address this topic before entering into any discussion of civil versus individual rights.
The Essay on Economics Of Public Issues
Economics of Public Issues "Our world is one of scarcity; we want more than we have. The reason is simple. Although we live in a world of limited resources, we have unlimited wants. This does not mean we all live and breathe solely to drive the fastest cars or wear the latest clothes. It means that we all want the right to make decisions about how resources are used -- even if what we want to do ...
Then one must ask, what is societys role in securing my rights? What are my duties to society? This in turn brings up a discussion of societys purpose. One could ask what provoked men to first enter into a civil organization. In discussing any of the above-mentioned topics, the issue of morals plays a significant role. Whether one simply states that rights are based on moral principals, or that all decision making is somehow carried out using moral principals, it would be impossible to remove it from scope of the discussion at hand. Also important in deciding which sphere has greater importance, civil or individual, are self-interest and the degree to which they have influence over this decision. Are we motivated completely by self-interest, or is there another factor that facilitates our motivations? Is civil interest distinct from individual interest or does it exist only as a method of protecting individual interest? What is a right? When discussing the American conception of rights I tend to favor the view presented by Thomas Paine.
He believed that the rights of one man are the duties of another. In possessing a right some one else is required to respect that right, therefore there can be no rights without duties. (Alexy, p. 77) In turn this would imply that we as people have a civil duty to respect the rights of others if we chose to posses those same rights our selves. Madison and Hamilton would, I believe, say that our rights were endowed by a creator, as would Paine. They would say that they exist and are protected not so much by duties to others, but by being guaranteed by a social contract. In this respect we would assure our rights by carrying out our civil responsibilities. This is accomplished by respecting and adhering to the law.
Even Calhoun admits that in exercising a right that we have certain obligations and that they must be adhered to when exercising a right. (Glendon, p. 84) Summer said the best way to protect our society and the rights we have with in it is by doing you civil duty. (Wolff, p. 45) In fact he says that the true definition of civil liberty is an equilibrium of rights and duties that would produce a state of peace, order, and harmony. (Campbell, p. 114) There are many different kinds of rights proposed by the various theorists.
The Essay on Exercise Addiction
Exercise is important for the overall health and wellbeing of all people. People engage in physical activity for a variety of reasons. For some, being healthy is their only reason for exercising; for others, it may be to build more muscle, or gain endurance. “Exercise involves planned, structured, repetitive bodily movement done to improve or maintain physical fitness. ” Exercise should always be ...
Paine said we posses natural rights endowed by our creator. These rights he believed could be put into one of two categories, Individual or civil rights. Individual rights are those in which the power to exercise is as perfect as the rights itself. Civil rights are those that the power to exercise is imperfect in that case we give up this right to the common stock of society in which case they then become laws. Everyone is subject to these laws, and the duty you owe is to the government in regard for these rights it helps you exercise. (MacCormick, p.
93) Moon believed we possessed rights called welfare and option rights. (Wolff, p. 70) Option rights are those that do not exist in everyone but are rather possessed based on the achievements of a person due to the degree of their agency. They are rights of discretion that can be exercised accordingly, provided they do not infringe upon others rights. He also believed in welfare rights. He stated that welfare rights are what we would call positive rights, those of duties or provisions owed or granted to us. He however believed that these rights would be better if offered to all members of society on an equal basis.
He believed simply providing welfare rights to those in need brought on shame and reduced the drive to work. So instead rights like those to education should be offered to all, and people could then choose whether or not to accept them. (Alexy, p. 126) Croly was an opponent of equality; he believed that we should all have a right to is equality of opportunity. (Wolff, p. 99) This is similar to a positive or a welfare right. Equality plays a key role on determining who should be entitled to what rights.
The authors of the federalist believed that property was a precondition to many rights including that of suffrage. Pain however would disagree saying that property can not exist as a precondition to rights, but that there can be no equality in the distribution of property. He would say men are born and continue to be free and equal, in respect to their rights. Therefore the only civil distinctions that can exist are those based on utility. (Campbell, p. 160) Calhoun would say men are not born free, that we are not born men we are born infants.
The Essay on Government by the People
The population growth has caused concern for many Americans because of the terms of numbers and poverty that comes with this growth. There is a pattern showing of wealth transferring from poorer nations to the richer nations of the globe and the information technology revolution is speeding this cycle up. With population growth reaching new heights new concerns for increasing urban growth has ...
(Wolff, p. 114) As infants we lack the proper abilities (what moon would call agency) to be participants in government. And in turn as we develop we do so distinctly, so we are not born with equality either. Calhoun does say that equality under the law is crucial to liberty. But in turn he says that because liberty allows for self-determination to improve ones condition, that it would lead to inequality, and that this is acceptable because it is an important factor in societys progress. He believed that people should be able to exercise their rights and carry on their interests provided they are consistent with the ends of government.
(Campbell, p. 164) Moon sees people as agents, doers and contributors. (Glendon, p. 152) He states that agency rights are essential in a representative democracy. All people capable of responsible action should be participants in discourse. Their participation will yield principals of equal treatment to all parties involved. But people who dont have agency (children, and the mentally capacitated) are excluded; therefore there is no pure equality in Moons theory.
Moon even concedes that not all people have the right to be treated like a person (Glendon, p. 156) Lastly there is the issue of interest. What drives man, is it interest, where does that interest rest? While Paine was undoubtedly a proponent or individual rights in the strictest sense, even he stated that mans interest and duties should be directed at government. Calhoun on the other hand was slightly more skeptical and tended to place more enhances on the individual. He said man has more individual concern than civil concern, and that this results from the law of self-preservation. This makes government necessary as sort of a mediator between the conflicts of individuals that will result.
If man were more civilly concerned we might not need government. Society comes before government. Government exists to protect society. Even if mans interest were purely civil we would still need government to issue rewards in order to encourage individual achievement. And because government is provided with an opportunity to abuse its power, we in turn have a constitution to protect individuals from government. Furthermore, the right to self-protection should protect the separate interest of the community and the individual. (Alexy, p.
The Essay on Canadian Government Anabaptists People Men
The Persecution of Innocence This essay will examine in detail the wrong doings of society upon the Hutterite people. It will also show how the Hutterian Brethren agricultural expertise has been beneficial to the world. It will explain many accounts of torture and hardship endured by these people. The Hutterian brotherhood has been wrongly persecuted because of their religion and their way of ...
163) Moon would have us focus on our individual interest but with in the confine of individual spheres, by limiting the respective scope of government. (Wolff, p. 129) People by nature are agents and work, as they should, for their own desires. Croly on the other hand would have us compete for achievements base on our own individual interest, but for the ultimate goal of furthering a more efficient state. Interestingly the most individually oriented theorist, Sumner, said hard work by man is the best way to further the public good. Self-interest motivates all. If you purse personal good only, you will further public good, but it would be unwise to try and directly further the public good.
Yet the U.S. leans more toward individual rights than public safety, because our individualistic and very competitive society, values them more. But the difference is really very slight. As long as the direction is chosen in a democratic manner by the people of the society, their decision result from a right to chose, and is maintained by their duty to their society. They are one and the same, one is not more important than the other. More emphases are just placed on one over the other.
It is simply the reflection of the values of that society. Words Count: 1, 591.
Bibliography:
Alexy, Robert. (1992).
Individual Rights and Collective Goods, in Carlos Nino, ed., Rights (New York: New York University Press, 1992).
Campbell, Tom. (1986).
Human Rights: From Rhetoric to Reality. New York: Blackwell. Glendon, Mary Ann. (1991).
Rights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political Discourse. New York: Free Press. MacCormick, Neil.
(1982).
Legal Right and Social Democracy: Essays in Legal and Political Philosophy. New York: Clarendon Press. Wolff, J. (1996).
An Introduction to Political Philosophy. New York: Harper Colins..