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Law General

Rights and Responsibilities

by (author) Leon Trakman & Sean Gatien

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Sep 1999
Category
General
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802083456
    Publish Date
    Sep 1999
    List Price
    $53.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442679375
    Publish Date
    Jul 2005
    List Price
    $51.00

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Description

The longstanding philosophical, political, and legal debate over the nature of rights has recently sprung into a raging liberal/communitarian controversy. With this book, Leon Trakman and Sean Gatien leap into the fray, presenting a powerful critique and reconceptualization of liberal rights theory.

The authors begin by setting out the current poles in the debate over rights as liberalism conceives them. The key flaw in liberal rights, they argue, is in protecting individual autonomy at the expense of community interests, such as those that relate to aboriginal peoples and the environment. Arguing that rights are inseparable from responsibilities, they develop a balanced, dialogic approach to rights theory, then follow through by deploying their conception of rights in four topical fields: freedom of expression, reproductive autonomy, Native rights, and international environmental protection.

Challenging many time-honoured liberal assumptions, the authors present a controversial yet persuasive treatise, substantiated with sound scholarship, powerful argument, and the light of reason.

About the authors

Leon Trakman is Bora Laskin National Fellow and Professor of Law at Dalhousie Law School.

Leon Trakman's profile page

Sean Gatien is a research associate at Dalhousie University.

Sean Gatien's profile page