No One's Hurt but Me
A False Premise of Autonomy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46282/blr.2026.10.1.1166Keywords:
Autonomy, Trade-Off, Spillover Effect, Human Rights, Democracy, Morality, Communitarianism, LiberalismAbstract
This analytically oriented, theoretically, practically, and empirically grounded article examines the key premise of autonomy. Namely, acting upon one's will approved by law has eventual negative effects on individual concerned only while rest of society remains intact. The text critically evaluates the issue, claiming that legally permissible action has direct and indirect effects on individuals and society at three levels. First, realising one group’s autonomy limits that of others. Autonomy operates as a trade-off: what is gained in one part of society is lost in another. Second, the realisation of autonomous choices impacts others' use of autonomy. Autonomy has spillover effects, positive or negative, depending on the nature of the choice at stake. And finally, too much autonomy in society is in tension with democracy that requires basic homogeneity of people also in morality. Current focus on autonomy neglects that morality is above all a societal value.
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