All Posts Tagged With: "consequentialism"
Capital Letters — Does Utilitarianism Deserve Bashing?
In an otherwise meritorious article (“The ‘Risk’ of Liberty: Criminal Law in the Welfare State,” September 2008), Michael N. Giuliano parrots the tiresome old bashing of utilitarian ethics. (He sometimes says “consequentialism,” but since versions of utilitarianism make up almost the entire set of consequentialist doctrines, the distinction is unnecessary here.) “The main component of [...]
27Apr2009 | mnolan | 2 comments | ContinuedThe “Risk” of Liberty: Criminal Law in the Welfare State
Michael Giuliano is an attorney editor at Thomson Reuters. The word crime has come to include an ever-increasing assortment of activities that do not fit the intuitive meaning of the word. The law has criminalized behavior deemed risky or undesirable and actions or status having only vague relationships to undefined harms. The lawmaking process under [...]
1Sep2008 | Michael N. Giuliano | 4 comments | ContinuedCapital Letters
Two Libertarianisms To the Editor: Jim Peron, in “Are There Two Libertarianisms?” (June 2001), sees moralism and consequentialism as two sides of a coin. He writes, “A free society is not only right but it works.” Surely there is mutual support between them. Nonetheless, there is a fundamental divide as to primacy. Moralism aims at [...]
1Oct2001 | FEE Admin | 0 comments | ContinuedAre There Two Libertarianisms?
Libertarian, or classical-liberal, thinking is routinely divided into two supposedly different camps. In a controversial article some years ago, R. W. Bradford (using the pen name “Ethan O. Waters”) called these “The Two Libertarianisms”: “moralism” and “consequentialism.” Moralism is the belief that individual rights are justified through an appeal to natural law and natural rights. Consequentialism justifies liberalism by arguing that it will “optimize” the wealth and happiness of society.
1Jun2001 | James Peron | 1 comment | ContinuedThe Fall and Rise of Freedom of Contract
This is a book about a turning of the tide. The tide in question is the intellectually important question of how society will treat contracts. Once a pillar of the common law and a cornerstone of the American legal system, by the 1970s the idea that people should be free to contract as they choose [...]
1Oct2000 | George C. Leef | 0 comments | Continued-
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