Reviews for Media Law and Human Rights

The average rating for Media Law and Human Rights based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-01-15 00:00:00 Michael Charles Turner I was very grateful to have read Isaiah Berlin's books on 18th century enlightenment thought before reading this rather odd book dissecting Blackstone's Commentaries. The Commentaries on the Laws of England appeared in 1765, and were used extensively by early American lawyers to learn the law before the law schools were established. William Blackstone appears to be a part of the Counter-Enlightenment in that he was dubious of man's use of proud science to dismantle traditional social structures. But he uses tools of the enlightenment, namely reason, observation of nature and primitive cultures, and the study of history to defend his thesis. His thesis was essentially that English law embodied the moral and social values of humanity, liberty and property and was entitled to reverence and respect. It was his opinion that English law had reached an apex of development and should be preserved in this way and any fiddling with it should only be done through the slow natural evolution of judicious decisions. Many of Blackstone's arguments were not water-proof and some tended to be circular in a round-about way. But he deeply believed in the crucial importance of certain social values, and he used all his critical reasoning abilities to defend them. For this he is to be admired.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-10-17 00:00:00 Brad Beaty Bentham: A Fragment on Government (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) by Jeremy Bentham (1988)