Freedom of Association/Philosophical Origins/Tradition contributions/Benthamite Utilitarianism
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What have religious and philosophical traditions contributed to our understanding of this right?
Benthamite Utilitarianism
Bentham approached freedom of association as he did free expression: as a means of political advocacy and dissent. In Chapter IV Section 24 of A Fragment on Government, he advocates for “the liberty of public association; or the security with which malecontents may communicate their sentiments, concert their plans, and practise every mode of opposition short of actual revolt, before the executive power can be legally justified in disturbing them.”
References:
A Fragment on Government: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_fragment_on_government/Chapter_4