Government, in my humble opinion, should be formed to secure and to enlarge the exercise of the natural rights of its members; and every government, which has not this in view, as its principal object, is not a government of the legitimate kind. - James Wilson.
This is drawn from a larger work - Of the Natural Rights of Individuals - which is a critique of some of the work of Edmund Burke. Wilson is argued by some to be even more important than James Madison to the eventual form of the Constitution. He would serve on the Supreme Court for almost a decade.
The quote goes beyond stating the a government is to secure the natural rights - which the Declaration of Independence - and says it should "enlarge" them as well.
Could be a good weekly written assignment: What does it mean to "enlarge the exercise of the natural rights?" Apply this to contemporary debates over the nature of natural rights.
- Click here for more from James Wilson.
