ABSTRACT
The level of a society’s well-being could be judged in terms of the rights that its members are guaranteed rather than the preferences that are satisfied or the needs fulfilled. Economists, it is true, have not been greatly concerned with rights as a measure, or even as a component, of the standard of living. It is differences in social welfare arising from how far individuals’ preferences are satisfied on which, as a rule, they have focused their attention and they have also recently become increasingly concerned with the question of whether the basic needs of all individuals are being met. Rights, on the other hand, have been emphasised mostly by those writing on law, ethics or political science.
