Equality, in a social sense, may be divided into that of condition, and that of rights. Equality of condition is incompatible with civilization, and is found only to exist in those communities that are but slightly removed from the savage state. In practice, it can only mean a common misery.
James Fenimore Cooper, The American Democrat: Or, Hints on the Social and Civic Relations of the United States of America (1838).
Equality of rights is a peculiar feature of democracies. These rights are properly divided into civil and political, though even these definitions are not to be taken as absolute, or as literally exact.
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James Fenimore Cooper
2 replies on “James Fenimore Cooper”
I’m going to cry, false dichotomy. So we can use the classic example of the printing press. And we can suggest that freedom of the press lies with the man who has one. I can say I have freedom of the press, but I have no press and if the publisher disagrees with me where is my freedom? I would also suggest a less classic example. The single mother with three kids and two jobs. Where is her freedom to have an hour for herself? Is her right to herself not completely constrained by her condition? Similarly Cooper wants to admit at the end that the dichotomy between civil and political is not, what does he say, neither absolute nor exact nor literal?
Any fundamental right can be exercise in the complete absence of other persons, as well as in their presences; no right to subsidy can be fundamental.
Freedom of expression is exactly and only a right to use one’s property unconstrained with respect to expressive content. That point should be obvious.
A person who makes choices leading to motherhood is not entitled to subsidy of those choices except from persons who contracted such obligations.