HSCI 319W Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Civil Liberties, On Liberty, Harm Principle
28 Feb 2020
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The state generally should not interfere with individuals" pursuit of their own conception of the good life: my own values of right and wrong, chosen a certain life path, some people might focus on cultural values. The government shouldn"t govern you about your life. Paternalism and non-neutrality toward conceptions of the good life by the state are problematic. Slavery political force and group force, indigenous groups property rights. Initially, the public seeks limits on the power of absolute rulers: under democracy, limits seem unnecessary, abusive leaders can be voted out of power, and presumably they carry out the will of the people. Every democracy has the ability to oppress minority populations. Limitations on the power of government are necessary even in democracies: we must devise means of protecting against the tyranny of the majority". A situation in which a group are treated unfairly because their situation is different from the situation of most of the people in a democratic country.
