The Independence of Right from Ethics Allen Wood Right and ethics ...

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injustices, but most often occurs through the general injustice of social customs – the waywomen, for instance, are treated in virtually all cultures, or the general injustice of the so-called“free” market (which is often manipulated by the powerful in ways even libertarians pretend toobject to – though these ways never seem sufficient to dislodge them from their pious deferenceto it). A society like ours, that denies a free life to millions upon millions of its citizens throughgeneral injustice, subjecting them through economic vulnerability to the arbitrary choice ofothers, cannot all itself a free society just because it leaves the wealthy and powerful free to denyothers the freedoms which are theirs by right. It instead comes close to being, in Kant’s technicalsense of the term, a barbaric society: ruled by force, where most are deprived of rightful freedom(VA 7:331).When human rights in Article 25 are, justified in this way, by being seen as necessaryconditions for a free life, those whose wealth and power threatens these rights are not viewed aslacking in “compassion,” missing some virtue which it would be nice if they had, but is at leastacceptable for them to lack. Instead, they are unmasked as what they really are: wrongdoers,criminals in relation to natural rights, refusing respect to the dignity and freedom of others. Onthe other side, those who demand what is theirs under these rights are not seen as beggars askingfor handouts, but as demanding no more than what properly belongs to them. Kant saw thesepoints clearly, and expressed them eloquently, in two memorable unpublished fragments of the1760s:“Many people take pleasure in doing good actions but consequently do not want tostand under obligations toward others. If one only comes to them submissively, theywill do everything: they do not want to subject themselves to the rights of people, butto view them simply as objects of magnanimity. It is not all one under what title I getsomething. What properly belongs to me must not be accorded me merely assomething I beg for” (Ak 19:145).22
“In our present condition, when general injustice is firmly entrenched, the naturalrights of the lowly cease. They are therefore only debtors, the superiors owe themnothing. Therefore, these superiors are called ‘gracious lords’. But he who needsnothing from them but justice can hold them to their debts and does not need to besubmissive” (Ak 20:140-141).23
Page 3 and 4: imperative of duty, then Kant seems
Page 5 and 6: applies to action prudentially: Pra
Page 7 and 8: themselves -- such as gods, or robo
Page 9 and 10: 6:231). “Right and authorization
Page 11 and 12: do not help them, then they (probab
Page 13 and 14: Coercion is never justified in the
Page 15 and 16: standards of right, be coercively p
Page 17 and 18: In other words, either duties of ri
Page 19 and 20: the less rich and less powerful. If
Page 21: “Having the resources to practice

The Independence of Right from Ethics Allen Wood Right and ethics ...

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