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Rights, Morality and the State
by Wendy McElroy
The Daily Bell
“Negative rights” have been a defining force in the rise and ongoing health of human freedom. A key reason for the drastic decline in human freedom has been the current popularity of “positive rights,” including a popularity within some libertarian circles. The competing theories are mutually exclusive. To understand why requires an appreciation of the role that class distinctions and the universalizability of rights have played in the freedoms so many of us took for granted until they began to vanish.
Negative rights claim that individuals have jurisdiction over their own bodies and property, which no one can properly violate. In turn, individuals have the duty to similarly respect the bodies and property of others. Freedom of speech and conscience are common examples. Positive rights claim that some individuals have an enforceable claim upon the bodies or property of others, upon the actions or goods of others. Health care and education are common examples.
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Source: http://financialsurvivalnetwork.com/2015/03/rights-morality-and-the-state/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rights-morality-and-the-state
