Happiness

The foundation of ethits or natural law is "that every man should ' Fee V. Taylor, 83 Ky. 263-63 (1886), Holt, J. See also Bose V.

First Nat

Bank of Springfield, 91 Mo. 401-3 (1886), cases; Bell v. Brewster.

44 Ohio St. 696, 698 (1887), cases; Smyth v. Caswell, 67 Tex. 673 (1887); as to pursue his own true and substantial happiness, "i But as utility contradicts the common sense and feeling of mankind, utility is not the standard of right and wrong.'' The object of all government is to promote the happiness and prosperity of the community by which it is established. 2 • Happiness is an inalienable right. In its pursuit all avocations, honors, positions, are alike open to every one.* The right of men to pursue their happiness means the right to pursue any lawful business or vocation, in any manner not inconsistent with the equal rights of others, which may increase their prosperity or develop their faculties, so as to give them their highest enjoyment.5 The right to follow any of the common occupations of life is an inalienable right; it was formulated as such under the phrase "pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence. This right is a large ingredient in the civil liberty (g. v.) of the citizen. No legislature may deny the right to all but a few favored individuals, by investing the latter with a monopoly.^ See Privilege, 2.