Relative Happiness

[trickykitty]

"the means of acquiring and possessing property"

This wording in the Virginia Declaration of Rights was omitted from The Declaration of Independence as a natural right of man and a protection entrusted to the government.

Thus, "the pursuit of happiness" took center stage.

This leads to a strict interpretation that the government should follow a policy of laissez-faire and free enterprise - the ethical egoism approach.

The loose interpretation comes from Richard Cumberland: "No action can be morally good which does not in its own nature contribute somewhat to the happiness of men." - the utilitarianism approach.

It's the happiness of A MAN (a person) versus the happiness of MEN (people).