Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
Latest editorial
How do we define consent and why does it matter?
The relevance that rape law places on ‘a rapist’s state of mind’ makes a mockery of women’s autonomy, argues legal scholar WENDY MURPHY
[Joelle Hatem/Creative Commons]
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
PERSONAL autonomy is among the most precious of human values.
John Locke described it as a natural law that recognises the basic human right to self-determination. We shouldn’t even call it a right, because some things are so important we ought not codify them, lest they become subject to exceptions and legislative whims that can’t be reversed. Like the old camel’s nose in the tent problem — once the nose is in, the tent will surely fall.
We express our commitment to the profound nature of autonomy when we forbid things like slavery and torture, and when we say things like “my right to swing my fist ends before it hits you in the nose.”
Similar stories
Women’s fight against violence and legal erosion is central to building a democratic and just Iraq, says Dr SALMA SAADAWI
Gisele Pelicot said ‘shame must change sides.’ We may think we agree, but, argues LOUISE RAW, society still has some way to go
As peers prepare to debate reform of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi leads a bid to end the criminalisation of women who end pregnancies at home. LYNNE WALSH reports
The legacy of socialist feminists such as Alexandra Kollontai challenges us today to confront an uncomfortable truth: framing prostitution as empowerment lets the abusers of the Epstein class off the hook, warns HELEN O’CONNOR