The Evolution of Rights: Dershowitz

Law professor Alan Dershowitz has published a book which, in my view, describes the application of Pragmatic Social Exchange theory to the field of law. One discovers from reading the book that the title, Rights from Wrongs, pretty much says it all. The central thesis is that people have derived their concept of legal rights, such as those enumerated in the Declaration of Independence and appended to the Constitution, based on their experience with being wronged in some fashion. I would argue that he means within the context of their social exchanges, specifically their social exchanges within a given Social Cooperative. Dershowitz points out that, where the political majority does justice to the political minority, there is no need for a concept of rights. It is only where the majority does injustice to the minority that the development of rights becomes essential. He notes that this reflects “the common-law approach to the development of legal doctrines,” and summarizes that “The history of the common law has been a history of adapting legal doctrine to avoid or minimize injustice.”

Note the principle of minimizing injustice and suffering. This will be a common theme winding through upcoming posts.

[Rights from Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights, Alan Dershowitz, 2004, Basic Books.]