Lyons

Lyons is arguing that utilitarianism cannot successfully accommodate for the ‘moral force of justified legal rights’, if one takes the moral force out of the justification for rights? I am confused because he seems to be using moral force for and against utility. Although he says utilitarianism ignores moral force, but one needs to accept this justification to be able to make claims about rights? On page 120 he writes, “in the present context, the difference amounts to this: from the mere fact that net utility would not be maximized by her exercising her rights, we cannot infer that her exercise of them is not justified; similarly, from the mere fact that net utility would be maximized by encroaching on her rights, we cannot infer that one is justified in encroaching on them.” I think he is saying that to have legal rights and claim that some are morally defensible is necessary for utility. And rights are put into place because they are promoting maximum utility even though in individual situations it may not seem like it. This article was difficult to follow and piece everything together for me.