What is the relationship between a person's rights and his interests? Conventional wisdom has come to hold the notion of a person's rights virtually within the same breath as his interests - that a person's rights and his interests are one and the same. The rights of a person, which are enshrined within the spirit of the negative liberties accorded to him or her by the state, have come to symbolize the essence of the …showed first 75 words of 2858 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2858 total…to the social fabric since they, in promoting self-interest, result in the destruction of social interest. But it is possible to take a more benign view of this, as Waldron suggests, analogous to the free market and the 'invisible hand' mechanism that works within it: perhaps the best social outcome for all would be one achieved by numerous individuals acting in their own best interests, with their ability to do so protected by their rights.