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The Fairy Story of Natural Rights

Lord Radcliffe examines the 'natural rights' (to life, liberty and to property) which the philosopher John Locke argued were an integral part of the social contract.

This year's Reith Lecturer is British lawyer Lord Radcliffe. He was Director-General of the Ministry of Information during the second world war, and is most famous for his role in Partition, the division of the British Indian Empire, His work led directly to the creation of Pakistan and India as independent nations. He examines the features of democratic society, and considers the problematic notions of power and authority in his series of seven Reith Lectures entitled 'Power and the State'.
In his third Reith lecture, entitled 'The Fairy Story of Natural Rights', Lord Radcliffe examines the notion of 'natural rights', those rights to life, liberty and to property which the English philosopher John Locke believed were an integral part of the social contract.

30 minutes

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  • Sun 18 Nov 1951 09:00

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