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Law, Order, And The Consent Defense, Keith M. Harrison

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] Among the benefits that we gain on leaving the state of nature and joining together in a "civilized society" is some amount of added protection of our individual possessions and person. Among our losses is the ability to plunder, at will, the possessions and bodies of those who are weaker than we are. These two statements are generally, but not absolutely, true. I propose that one hallmark of civilization is the security of everyone who lives under its authority that they are free from the unwanted interferences of others with their personal integrity and property rights.' One way to …