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The Law, by Bastiat
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"Liberty is the soul's right to breathe; and when it cannot take a long breath, laws are girdled too tight."

--- Rev Henry Ward Beecher


Lesson 61 - Fundamentals of Morality Part V Print E-mail

 

A knowledgable person will not committ a trespass because of two reasons:

First, he knows that the trespass will create displeasure and rob someone of a satisfaction he might otherwise have.

Secondly, he understands that if the moral concept of non-trespass and non-molestation is generally accepted and adhered to, that in the end such behavior will provide the highest possible satisfaction for himself as well.

The knowledgeable person sees that it is to his own personal advantage to refrain from knowlingly or willfully committing a trespass against the property boundaries of another, for in the long run he is dependent upon that other person to similarly refrain from committing such trespasses against him.

As consumers,  we must act independently and individualistically.  In order to consume however, we are largely dependent upon the assistance and cooperation of others, who we hope to pursuade to use their knowledge, skills, energy, and time to assist us in acquiring things that we want or need.

In order for us to maximize our own satisfaction as consumers, we must leave others free to produce what we will want to own and consume.

From the standpoint of our own personal well-being and personal self-interest therefore, it is just as vitally  important that we do not injure or interfere with the personal well-being of others.

To work toward the moral concepts of freedom and a free society does NOT require a revision or a remolding of human character or nature.  As we have seen, human beings MUST act in their own self-interests to survive and consume.

It is not necessary to change human nature or presume that all men must adopt a particular moral view.  While there may be temporary or local aberrations, it is essential and natural that human beings will move generally toward a more moral understanding, and they will do so out of their own self-interest, once that self-interest is clearly seen and understood.

The human self-interest is an inherited and ingrained characteristic that runs deep to the instinctoid.  It is as reliable a reaction as disapproval of trespass against one's self.

 

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Fundamentals of Liberty