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Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality BY DANIELLE ALLEN LIVERIGHT, 320 PAGES, $27.95
In Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, Danielle Allen provides an informative, lineby-line, sometimes word-by-word, philosophical interpretation of the founders' document. Allen offers the case that the Declaration of Independence is a syllogism for political equality, rather than a manifesto of unlinked assertions. "Premise 1," she writes: "All people have rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Premise 2: Properly constituted government is necessary to their securing their rights. Premise 3: [All people have a right to whatever is necessary to secure what they have a right to.| Conclusion: All people have a right to a properly constituted government."
Allen argues that the...