“Right is a principle; utility is only a result. Right is a cause; utility is only an effect. 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.”
~ Henri-Benjamin Constant (1767–1830), Principles of Politics.
[Hat tip Conza]
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1 comment:
Copying this for later use. It should be in big letters above the whiteboard of every Econ 101 class. Universities mightn't turn out so many socialists.
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