O Intermitente
(So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good-bye)

quinta-feira, julho 08, 2004

Benjamin Constant

Richard M. Ebeling escreve sobre o livro "Principles of Politics Applicable to All Governments " de Benjamin Constant no The Freeman.

Principles of Politics was written in the immediate aftermath of Napoleon's rule over France and much of Europe. It is a defense of all forms of freedom against despotism. Constant considered natural rights to be a superior foundation for liberty than Bentham?s utilitarianism. "Right is a principle; utility is only a result," Constant said. "Say to a man: you have the right not to be put to death or arbitrarily plundered. You will give him quite another feeling of security and protection than you will by telling him: it is not useful for you to be put to death or arbitrarily plundered."

Yet, in fact, Constant's arguments for freedom and limitations on government are both rights-based and utilitarian, or consequentialist. He asks us to think not only of the inherent rightness of freedom, but also of its positive effects and the harm from its abridgment.

posted by Miguel Noronha 11:04 da manhã