‘They Brought It on Themselves and It Never Happened’: Denial to 1939

Abstract

In Western societies with established democratic traditions, citizens above a certain social class can count on their rights to personal safety and the safety of their property. Social institutions such as the police and the courts are empowered to enforce these rights. Often, however, people are unmindful of how recently established these rights are. Up until the late 18th century it is fair to say that most people had few codified rights. They lived at the will of their rulers, who could do with them largely as they wished. Choices were limited. Those who had some influence with the powers that be would use it while the rest were left to lie low and hope for the best. Or they could flee. Or, if conditions were propitious or sufficiently desperate, they could rebel.