Philosophical liberalism & the nature of the individual's private sphere of rights

Abstract

The complex system of rights we have in our society has its foundations in philosophical liberalism. This paper analyzes the sphere of individual rights, referred to as the private, within philosophical liberalism. The objectives of this paper was first, to determine whether there is a sacrosanct private within philosophical liberalism and second, to evaluate the concepts theorists give priority to over the private. A textual analysis of works by classical and contemporary liberal theorists (John Locke, John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, and Robert Nozick) provides the methodology for evaluating the objectives. This research provides clarity of the rights afforded to individuals within liberal theory and the validity of the label of philosophical liberalism as a theory that holds individual rights paramount.