I972] PROTECTING ENTITLEMENTS hend with respect to private property. If Taney owns a cabbage patch and Marshall, who is bigger, wants a cabbage, he will get it unless the state intervenes But it is not so obvious that the state must also intervene if it chooses the opposite entitlement, com- munal property. If large Marshall has grown some communal cabbages and chooses to deny them to small Taney, it will take state action to enforce Taney 's entitlement to the communal cab- bages. The same symmetry applies with respect to bodily in- egrity. Consider the plight of the unwilling ninety-eight-pound weakling in a state which nominally entitles him to bodily in tegrity but will not intervene to enforce the entitlement against a lustful Juno. Consider then the plight-absent state intervention -of the ninety-eight-pounder who desires an unwilling Juno in a state which nominally entitles everyone to use everyone elses body. The need for intervention applies in a slightly more com- plicated way to injuries. When a loss is left where it falls in an auto accident it is not because god so ordained it. Rather it is because the state has granted the injurer an entitlement to be free of liability and will intervene to prevent the victims friends, if they are stronger, from taking compensation from the injurer. The loss is shifted in other cases because the state has granted an entitlement to compensation and will intervene to prevent the stronger injurer from rebuffing the victims requests for com- e are not concerned as much with the workings of such obligations as with the reasons which may explain the rules which themselves give rise to the obligations. " Bigger"obviously does not refer simply to size, but to the sum of an indi- viduals resources. If Marshall,'s gang possesses superior brain and brawn to that e Different cultures deal with the problem in different ways. Witness the fol Life Insurance" Fee is 4 Bulls and $I2o0. Port Moresby, New guinea. Peter Howard proved that he values his life more than four bulls and SI20D. But he wants $24 and one pig in change. Mr. Howard gave the money and livestock to members of the jiga tribe, which had threatened to kill him because he killed a tribe member in an auto accident last October 29 The police approved the extortion agreement after telling the 38 year old Mr. Howard they could not protect him from the sworn vengeance of th ribe, which lives at Mt. Hagen, about 35o miles Northeast of Port Moresby. Mr. Howard, of Cambridge, England, was attacked and badly beaten by the tribesmen after the accident They said he would be killed unless the payment of money and bulls was made according to the tribal traditions. It was the first time a white man in New guinea had been forced to bow to tribal law After making the payment, Mr. Howard demanded to be the assault on him by the tribesmen. He said he wanted $24 and one pig. A Jiga spokesman told him the tribe would "think about it. "New York Times, Feb. I6, I972, at I7, col. 6 HeinOnline 85 Harv. L Rev. 1091 1971-1972PROTECTING ENTITLEMENTS hend with respect to private property. If Taney owns a cabbage patch and Marshall, who is bigger, wants a cabbage, he will get it unless the state intervenes. But it is not so obvious that the state must also intervene if it chooses the opposite entitlement, com￾munal property. If large Marshall has grown some communal cabbages and chooses to deny them to small Taney, it will take state action to enforce Taney's entitlement to the communal cab￾bages. The same symmetry applies with respect to bodily in￾tegrity. Consider the plight of the unwilling ninety-eight-pound weakling in a state which nominally entitles him to bodily in￾tegrity but will not intervene to enforce the entitlement against a lustful Juno. Consider then the plight - absent state intervention - of the ninety-eight-pounder who desires an unwilling Juno in a state which nominally entitles everyone to use everyone else's body. The need for intervention applies in a slightly more com￾plicated way to injuries. When a loss is left where it falls in an auto accident, it is not because God so ordained it. Rather it is because the state has granted the injurer an entitlement to be free of liability and will intervene to prevent the victim's friends, if they are stronger, from taking compensation from the injurer.6 The loss is shifted in other cases because the state has granted an entitlement to compensation and will intervene to prevent the stronger injurer from rebuffing the victim's requests for com￾pensation. we are not concerned as much with the workings of such obligations as with the reasons which may explain the rules which themselves give rise to the obligations. "Bigger" obviously does not refer simply to size, but to the sum of an indi￾vidual's resources. If Marshall's gang possesses superior brain and brawn to that of Taney, Marshall's gang will get the cabbages. ' Different cultures deal with the problem in different ways. Witness the fol￾lowing account: "Life Insurance" Fee is 4 Bulls and $i2oo. Port Moresby, New Guinea. Peter Howard proved that he values his life more than four bulls and $12oo. But he wants $24 and one pig in change. Mr. Howard gave the money and livestock to members of the Jiga tribe, which had threatened to kill him because he killed a tribe member in an auto accident last October 29. The police approved the extortion agreement after telling the 38 year old Mr. Howard they could not protect him from the sworn vengeance of the tribe, which lives at Mt. Hagen, about 350 miles Northeast of Port Moresby. Mr. Howard, of Cambridge, England, was attacked and badly beaten by the tribesmen after the accident. They said he would be killed unless the payment of money and bulls was made according to the tribal traditions. It was the first time a white man in New Guinea had been forced to bow to tribal laws. After making the payment, Mr. Howard demanded to be compensated for the assault on him by the tribesmen. He said he wanted $24 and one pig. A Jiga spokesman told him the tribe would "think about it." New York Times, Feb. 16, 1972, at r7, col. 6. 1972] lO91 HeinOnline -- 85 Harv. L. Rev. 1091 1971-1972