Browsing by Author "Collins, Peter"

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    Political philosophy and private property : an evaluation of four main types of theory concerning ownership and distribution of property in a just society
    (1986) Howard, Frances Mary; Collins, Peter
    This thesis takes as its starting point the beliefs that government should be neutral between the conceptions of the good life of its citizens; that it should take as one of its foremost goals the maximization of their freedom, and with a tentative acceptance of the view that individuals have natural rights. It attempts to answer the following questions: 1. Is there a natural right to property? 2. can an individual acquire exclusive control over an object independently of the actions or acquiescence of others? 3. Do private property rights infringe or protect freedom? 4. Is equality a desirable goal? If so, what form of equality should a society pursue? 5. Is a free society compatible with an egalitarian society? 6. Does it make sense to speak of distributive justice? In answer to the first two questions the author discusses and rejects John Locke's Labour Theory of Acquisition; in response to the others she discusses the theories of Karl Marx, G A Cohen, Robert Nozick, Michael Oakeshott, John Rawls, Alan Ryan and Ronald Dworkin and attempts conceptual analyses of "freedom", "equality", "justice" and "property". Finally, it is concluded that: 1. There is no natural right to property. 2. The form of property rights adopted requires the hypothetical consent of concerned parties. 3. Private property rights in areas of everyday contact are valuable - for privacy, autonomy and individuality. Security of property rights on a large scale, on the other hand, can threaten the freedom of others. 4. Equality is desirable. Rawls's version, that no inequality be permitted unless it improves the position of the worst-off, or a variant of this, best conforms to the constraint of 2. 5. This version of equality is compatible with freedom. 6. There are deep and conflicting intuitions regarding distributive justice.
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    The protection of minority rights: a comparative survey with special reference to South Africa's constitutional options
    (1988) Van Rooyen, Johann; Welsh, David; Collins, Peter
    The purpose of this dissertation is firstly to define and analyse the concept of minority rights and to place it in perspective in relation to surrounding concepts such as communalism, ethnicity, groups and individualism. This is done through a critical discussion of various theoretical perspectives relating to the subject matter. Comparisons are drawn between the policies of various plural societies aimed at accommodating their ethnic diversity, either constitutionally or through methods that lack legitimacy. This is followed by a discussion and evaluation of consociational democracy and federalism as possible solutions to the problems created by ethnicity and minorities in a plural society. Having made the hypothesis that democracy is best served in a multi-ethnic society by a system that emphasizes group rights in addition to individual rights and which accepts the notion of government through consensus, the emphasis then moves to the particular nature of the South African minority question. The policies of the various actors on the South African political scene towards minority rights are analysed critically. Attention is given to factors which may influence group formation in a system emphasizing voluntary association, such as race, ethnicity, class and ideology. There is also a discussion of the nature of the rights which minorities may claim and emphasis is placed on the requirement that minorities should be able to levy strategic influence without disrupting the society as a whole. Finally, this dissertation deals with the question of which constitutional alternatives offer the most promising solution to the problems caused by South Africa's cultural diversity. Although a political system emphasizing individual rights might come closest to the liberal ideal and may be suitable to an ethnically homogeneous country, the violent history of plural societies where group rights have been neglected, indicate the need for a pluralist solution in South Africa. While there is a strong tendency among Blacks to view the concept of minority rights as yet another Apartheid ploy to maintain White domination and privileges, the purpose of this paper has been to prove that minority rights is a universal concept and is not a creation of Apartheid, although the National Party has managed to almost irreversibly taint it. Yet, in a system of group formation through voluntary association, the concept of minority rights can serve as a powerful tool to help facilitate a negotiated settlement towards a predominantly Slack government based on consensus. A true power-sharing consensus-orientated constitution has been found in Lijphart's notion of a consociational democracy and the view is taken that the Natal-KwaZulu Indaba's constitutional proposals is an example of such a constitution.
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    The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke
    (1989) Watkyns, Brian Richard William; Collins, Peter
    Since 1945 the emphasis on rights has been an ever-increasing phenomenon while the influence of the church plays an ever-diminishing role in today's society. The irony of the situation is that rights have their source in religion. It is Locke who is credited with having put the question of rights into the mainstream of political thinking and it was Locke's faith in God that enabled him to put forward the political doctrine that will be considered in this thesis. The theme of this study is the reconciliation of traditional Christianity with humanist political theory's emphasis on rights in Locke's Political Philosophy which I have termed Theopolity. It traces Locke's thoughts, starting with his view on the creation of man which ultimately gives rise to natural and human rights. These rights, when violated by Government, legitimately result in revolution. Locke has three areas of thought, which when combined, give rise to his political doctrine. These areas are Epistemology, Theology, and Politics. He believed that after creation man was in the State of Nature. This state of Nature was controlled by the law of Nature which gave rise to, and preserved, Natural Rights. To ensure the protection of these Rights the individual entered into a Social Contract and so created a political society. Once society had been established, a Government was formed to ensure the protection of the individual by means of civil laws. These laws extended Natural Rights and these extended rights are known as Human Rights. This study concludes that John Locke's political thought is the most cogent political doctrine that can be adopted by rational individuals who share a strong sense of justice and morality in a Democratic Christian Society. It shows that Locke's pursuit of truth led to his basic, common-sense politics which was the embodiment of the true state of man in a society where the individual's God-given rights are respected.