Synopses & Reviews
To "fight for your rights", or anyone else's, is not just to debate principles but to haggle over budgets. The simple insight that all legally enforceable rights cost money reminds us that freedom is not violated by a government that taxes and spends, but requires it -- and requires a citizenry vigilant about how money is allocated. Drawing from these practical, common sense notions, The Cost of Rights provides a "useful corrective to the all-or-nothing feel of much political debate nowadays" (The Economist).
Table of Contents
All rights are positive -- The necessity of government performance -- No property with taxation -- Watchdogs must be paid -- How scarcity affects liberty -- How rights differ from interests -- Enforcing rights means distributing resources -- Why tradeoffs are inescapable -- Have rights gone too far? -- The unselfishness of rights -- Rights as a response to moral breakdown -- How religious liberty promotes stability -- Rightsholders as stakeholders -- Welfare rights and the politics of inclusion.