The Basic Liberties

Pettit, Philip N.

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The Basic Liberties

THE LEGACY OF H.L.A. HART, Matthew Kramer et al, ed., Oxford University Press, Forthcoming

Princeton Law and Public Affairs Working Paper No. 08-013

36 Pages Posted: 9 Dec 2008 Last revised: 5 Dec 2015

See all articles by Philip N. Pettit

Philip N. Pettit

Princeton University; Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS)

Date Written: October 8, 2008

Abstract

How to characterize the basic liberties other than by giving a few examples and adding an 'and so on'? This paper starts from the intuitive connection between enjoying the basic liberties and being a free citizen. It identifies three constraints that that connotation supports: that the basic liberties should be personally significant, equally co-enjoyable by all and as numerous as those other constraints allow. And then it explores the shape that those constraints would impose on the basic liberties, elaborating in particular on the implications of equal co-enjoyment.

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Pettit, Philip N., The Basic Liberties (October 8, 2008). THE LEGACY OF H.L.A. HART, Matthew Kramer et al, ed., Oxford University Press, Forthcoming, Princeton Law and Public Affairs Working Paper No. 08-013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1313270