[Thom. Jefferson's ill]

Originally Posted by ThomPaine

Do not damage a man or his property and do not engage in fraudulent or deceitful contracts, transactions or agreements.

I like this very much, another way of stating the Golden Rule. I believe I would restate it for my own personal use as:
Do not damage a man or his property and do not entice or present him in fraudulent or deceitful contracts, transactions or agreements.

My reasoning being that no matter how careful I am I may be engaged in fraudulent or deceitful contracts, transactions or agreements through no real fault of my own. As in your example below. As the seller of the bottled water did you know it was poisoned?

Originally Posted by ThomPaine

Though this is very broad it is easy to see that the common thread here is damage, harm, fraud, loss, etc. which is the basis of almost all true and valid law (not counting special or administrative law, whose purpose is to generate revenue and support special interests)

I would also say that the common law is similar to the public law example given above, in that it should protect the public from harm. If I come to your door and offer you sell you bottled water and it is poison, even if you dont drink it, that is a fraudulent transaction.

Thom

I find it easier to evaluate the root of situations when I think in terms of harm. Who am I harming or of even greater concern today is there potential for harm? This type of thinking keeps me out of trouble.