I don't think you can frame civil rights issues as strict utilitarian propositions. Or, if it is possible, it requires a more in depth analysis than you are giv

I don't think you can frame civil rights issues as strict utilitarian propositions. Or, if it is possible, it requires a more in depth analysis than you are giving it. For example, restrictions on freedom of press are usually for the greater good, in the short term. 99 times out of 100, the people you are defending with civil rights issues are total crackpots. But 1/100 times, maybe they are Thomas Jefferson writing the declaration of independence. The rare case is so critical that it is worth our time to waste our time with the remaining 99.