Liberty and personal responsibility in Dworkin’s theory of rights

Abstract This article explores the conceptions of liberty and personal responsibility in Dworkin’s late theory of rights. It demonstrates that, from a moral and philosophical perspective, Dworkin’s doctrine of liberty is somewhat deficient. However, from a legal or constitutional perspective, it achieves something that its main rival—proportionality-based rights adjudication under the culture of justification—cannot and does not seek to deliver, namely a “good-enough” protection of a distinct sphere of liberty. This, the article suggests, makes Dworkin’s final statement on rights and liberty the first in his long career to become a plausible candidate for judicial endorsement and application.