Opportunity to sound off, 2009.10.19: Individual rights vs. common good

[MTPorcupine3]

Monday Morning, October 19th, 9:00: Are individual rights more important than the common good?

New Hampshire Public Radio, www.nhpr.org, Sacrates Exchange :

Are we an excessively individualistic--and even selfish--culture? Does New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die" ethos place too much emphasis on the rights of the individuals and not enough on the well-being of our communities? Is it ever justified to sacrifice an individual's rights for the sake of the collective? What are the dangers of valuing the collective more than the community?

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You can log in now and comment by going to the site above and clicking on Sacrates Exchange. Then on Monday from 9-10:00, there'll be an on-air discussion. Call in number: 1-800-892-6477.

[Little Owl]

This question is paradoxical; there can be so "common good" without individual rights.

Are we an excessively individualistic--and even selfish--culture?

Oh please!  We presently live in a time of socialistic excess and individual-be-damned psychosis.  And while we're at it, no level of individualism leads to selfishness.  Collectivism is the most selfish ideology of them all.  It advocates stealing property and trampling the rights of others to maintain an inherently unstable redistributionist pipe dream.

Does New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die" ethos place too much emphasis on the rights of the individuals and not enough on the well-being of our communities?

Once again, false dilemma.  The well being of our communities depends on the rights of individuals.

Is it ever justified to sacrifice an individual's rights for the sake of the collective?

No, because the collective has no rights.  Besides, most purported examples are fallacious (ex. eminent domain)

What are the dangers of valuing the collective more than the community?

Stalinist Russia, Nazi Germany, Khmer Rouge - Take your pick!

What fourth grader wrote these questions?  Please tell me someone outside of NH thought these were legitimate points of contention.  Maybe someone from Massachusetts, or New York?