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1828 July 28
Blackstone familiarized
By Rights require at the outset to be distinguished
into moral rights and legal rights. For want of attention
to this distinction prodigious is the confusion and altercation
and angry feeling that has had place.
Every thing desirable thing that it is consistent with
the greatest happiness of the community in question I should
be in possession of, I may be said to have a moral right
to: in other words it is morally right that I should
have it. This may be said is an averment to the truth
or propriety of which no objection can be made. But
to say I have a legal right to every thing which it is
consistent with the greatest happiness of the community I should
be in possession of would be to make an averment the falsity
of which is asserted by every man as often as he makes
complaint of any article of law which in consideration of
the effect it has on his interest, it would be is his wish to
see changed.
A man who lives under a form of government which
is in any respect bad, may, on that supposition with perfect truth and propriety
say – I have a right – that is to say a moral right to
cause it to be made better. But to say I have a legal right
to cause it to be made better is to utter a self contradictory
proposition.
Any person who lives under the form of government
which has place in England may without self contradiction
say I have a right meaning a moral right to a vote in
the election of those by whom I have under whose government
I live: in other words it is right morally right I should
. But with the exception of a comparatively small number
no man so situated
can without falshood
and absurdity say I
have a legal right so
to do.
Identifier: | JB/031/085/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 31.
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1828-07-28 |
5-6 |
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031 |
civil code |
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085 |
blackstone familiarized |
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001 |
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text sheet |
1 |
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recto |
d2 / e2 |
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jeremy bentham |
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9771 |
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