From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Thu May 09 2002 - 07:56:12 MDT
On Thursday, May 9, 2002, at 01:21 am, Lee Corbin wrote:
>> On Wed, 2002-05-08 at 11:19, Brian D Williams wrote:
>>>
>>> Do individual rights come before the common good?
>>>
>>> I would argue yes.
>>
>>
>> And some would say that individual rights *are* the common good.
>>
>> -James Rogers
>
> I would suggest that individual rights *achieve* the common good
> in the long run, and that failure to observe them leads away from
> the common good (in the long run).
>
> Lee Corbin
It seems instinctively obvious that the common good should outweigh the
individual good. However, it quickly leads to the majority oppressing
the minority. Worse yet, such a system can evolve into an oppression
hell where everybody is working toward the "common good" while no
individuals actually benefits.
I think such a system is really a defensive maneuver against the
possibility that a small group of individuals will override a larger
group of individuals. I think people who promote the "common good" are
really promoting wide-spread individual rights. They just don't believe
that it can be achieved for everyone, so they are willing to sacrifice a
few individuals along the way. Such a system is flawed, however. If
individual rights can be ignored for one or a few, it can be ignored for
anybody.
-- Harvey Newstrom, CISSP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com> Principal Security Consultant <www.Newstaff.com>
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