Utility and Rights (Dee Speaking)
				Source		MAIN PATH: Ann
		Ann					Dee

No, you can't. The whole idea behind individual rights is that they put restraints on simple utilitarian justifications.

For example, if you accept (which I don't) Alan Goldman's right to be hired on the basis of competence, or a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of race, then you can't justify strong affirmative action by pointing to good consequences like role models or lower unemployment rates. The level of unemployment is important. High unemployment is generally a bad thing. But that doesn't ordinarily justify violating or abridging someone's rights. That's the nature of rights.

I think you have to choose between these two approaches. You can't use both as if one reinforces the other.

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