In the opening passage of one of the first American constitutions, George Mason wrote that the rights of the people of Virginia are the “basis and foundation of government … which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”
John Adams, author of Massachusetts’s first constitution, which became the model for the Federal Constitution, similarly included that “All men are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.”
It was “to secure these rights,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in his famous “Declaration,” that “Governments are instituted among Men.” In other words, to the American Framers, securing individual rights was the very purpose of government.
Throughout this blog, I’ve offered diverse examples of productiveness, including those that may sometimes be overlooked, such as sports and the arts. Legislating is another such example. Though the principle defining proper laws within the American system can be briefly stated, implementing it is complex and extraordinarily difficult: writing and passing laws that properly protect rights requires deep knowledge and abundant skill.
This is especially true with respect to laws that cover emergencies, such as wars and pandemics. If “everyday” laws addressing violence, theft, and contracts unambiguously defend rights, what about those addressing quarantines, isolations, business closures, and the like — a question that one journal article suggests raises “formidable legal and ethical challenges that have yet to receive sufficient attention”? Though scholars often do recount what U.S. courts have said across the years, few seem to propose what a proper jurisprudence could and should be.
Yet understanding what is genuinely legitimate and not is crucial — life and death, even — because that alone stands between securing peoples’ rights and violating them. If ever a momentous opportunity for productive action existed, legal work such as this is surely one.
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