Monday, February 24, 2014
"To be deprived of that which we are possessed of, is a greater evil than to be disappointed of what we have only the expectation. Breach of property, therefore, theft and robbery, which take from us what we are possessed of, are greater crimes than breach of contract, which only disappoints us of what we expected. The most sacred laws of justice, therefore, those whose violation seems to call the loudest for vengeance and punishment, are the laws which guard the life and person of our neighbor; the next are those which guard his property and possessions; and last of all come those which guard what are called his personal rights, or what is due to him from the promises of others" (Smith, part II section II, chapter 2). Do you agree with Smith, or do you think the justice system should hold personal rights in the same regard as property and personal possessions? I think the times have changed since smith wrote this, and most people would say they value their personal rights (freedom of speech, same-sex marriage, the right to keep and bear arms) just as much as protection of their property and personal possessions. What do y’all think?
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ReplyDeleteI agree that the legal topics we are most concerned with today most likely fall under Smith's category of "personal rights." I also agree that the times have changed. However, I believe this comes from the fact that we already feel our property and possessions are fairly secure. There are instances in society where the government may take a person's land for public use, or do something that diminishes its value (building power lines). If a property owner did not feel they were compensated fairly for these actions, this major concern would most likely be more important to them than their freedom of speech. The loss of their home has a larger impact on their life. For the most part this does not happen today. If we purchase a house or piece of land, we expect that it will continue to be ours. In the case that someone were to try to take it from us, we would expect help from the police in protecting it. The same thing applies to other objects, such as vehicles. In purchasing a vehicle we expect it to stay in our possession. If it were to be stolen, we expect help from the government in finding it. The majority of society feels that our property is protected. It's similar to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We are not worried about gaining self-fulfillment or knowledge until after we have a place to sleep and food to eat. Since our society feels fairly secure in their life and property, we are now concerned with our personal rights. However, if we did not feel secure in the first two, the third would be of less importance to us.
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