The Proportionality Delusion
Why Equal Protection Breaks When Human Life Becomes Conditional
A Libertarian Constitutional Critique of Bodily Autonomy, Liability, and the Collapse of Legal Personhood
A constitutional republic does not collapse through sudden revolution. It collapses through definition changes-slow shifts in how law decides who counts as a "person," and therefore who is entitled to protection.
In The Proportionality Delusion, Michael Strauss presents a rigorous philosophical and legal critique of modern rights theory, arguing that the foundations of equal protection in the United States are being undermined by conditional interpretations of human value.
Drawing from libertarian philosophy, the Non-Aggression Principle, legal liability theory, and constitutional equal protection doctrine, this book challenges the modern reliance on proportionality, viability standards, and bodily autonomy absolutism when applied to questions of innocent human life.
At the center of the argument is a single claim: rights are either inherent to human existence, or they are not rights at all.
Inside this book:
- The Non-Aggression Principle and the foundations of liberty
- Consent, foreseeability, and legal responsibility
- The collapse of equal protection under conditional personhood
- The instability of viability as a legal standard
- The limits of bodily autonomy when another life exists
- Why proportional balancing undermines absolute rights
- The role of government in defining-or recognizing-personhood
This is not a policy pamphlet. It is a structural critique of modern legal reasoning itself.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with its conclusions, The Proportionality Delusion forces a direct confrontation with the question underlying all constitutional law:
Does the word "human" still guarantee equal protection under law-or only selective recognition?
