NCJ Number
134115
Editor(s)
B Russell
Date Published
1991
Length
244 pages
Annotation
These 14 essays argue for freedom of expression, civil disobedience, affirmative action, and liberal judicial activism and against sex-role stereotyping, paternalism, and the censorship of pornography.
Abstract
These views rest on a theory that consists of a concept of rights, a theory of value, and a theory of government. The concept of rights derives from John Stuart Mill and asserts that neither modest increases in the general welfare nor majority opinion can justify the violation of a right. The theory of value states that important interests should be protected whether people know or desire that in which they have an interest. The theory of government views the role of the constitution as protecting certain basic rights and the role of the judiciary as interpreting the constitution according to the values it is meant to embody and achieve. The values that a democracy is intended to secure are freedom, equality, and personal dignity. Thus, people have the right to all sorts of symbolic conduct and forms of expression including flag burning and the display of pornographic material, not just speech as narrowly understood. Chapter reference notes, name and subject indexes, and lists of author's published and unpublished works