Newsgroups: bit.listserv.politics
Date:         Sat, 26 Sep 1992 11:01:29 EST
From:         Kerry Stephenson <KSTE@PURCCVM.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: What is a "right"?
              25 Sep 1992 09:48:55 GMT from <jwales@SILVER.UCS.INDIANA.EDU>

I posted my definition, but Missy J. didn't know what the big words
meant, and Jamie seemed to think it inadequate.  So I would like to
invite the pair (Missy, Jamie) to write to us all and tell us WHAT,
exactly, they think that a 'right' is.

         Sigh.  As usual, Jimbo misrepresents my position.  No, dear,
         I *knew* what the big words meant; I simply felt that you
         were playing a game with us, and, at the time, I had no
         intention of playing with you.  As I recall, you were, at
         the time, persecuting me privately.  So I didn't respond.
         Actually, I thought everybody already knew this.  At least
         everybody who claimed to be a student of politics.  But I
         digress.  Since you insist, I will oblige.

         A "right" is that to which one has a just and absolute claim.
         This claim may be provable by recourse to reason and natural
         law (in which case it is not possible to take them away, only
         to abrogate or violate them.)  Or it may be derived from
         positive law (in which case its existence is dependent upon
         the granting agency's willingness to continue to regard it as
         a right.)

         Rights are retained, regardless of the individual's ability
         or desire to exercise them.  There are several types:

         *  First and foremost are natural rights--those which are
            (as the Founders stated) "endowed by our Creator."
            These are life (the pre-eminent right, from which all
            others stem), liberty (the freedom to act to exercise
            other rights), and (depending upon whom you ask--John
            Locke or the Founders) either property or the pursuit of
            happiness.  The right of property is assumed to be the
            means by which liberty is secured.  The pursuit of happiness
            is the means by which liberty is exercised.   Think of it
            this way:  first you have to be alive; therefore, you have
            a right to life.  Secondly, in order to do anything, you
            require liberty (freedom of movement and action).  Third,
            the gains of that liberty require some guarantee that they
            can be maintained (property) and continued (pursuit of
            happiness).  These rights are equivalent, and are each
            required for the exercise of any other types of rights.
            However, although they are equivalent in importance,
            they are derived in the order in which they are needed. These
            natural rights are derivable either from religion or
            from nature; either investigation yields at least these.

         *  Moral rights are those just and absolute claims that
            derive from the exercise of liberty in conformance to
            universal ethical standards.  Such things as the right
            to be free from the threat of murder and mayhem, the
            right to behave with honesty and integrity and expect
            others to do the same, and the right to the free exercise
            of conscience are included here.  Moral rights are a subset
            of natural rights and, as such, can never be taken away.
            Natural rights exist regardless of their official
            recognition and inhere to individuals simply because they
            are human beings.


               * Then there are what we would call "positive" rights
                 (as opposed to "natural" rights).  These are the
                 result of positive, man-made law, and differ from
                 one community to the next.  Within this category
                 we would include:

                     *  legal rights:  legal rights are invented by
                        legislative bodies and are invested by
                        society with a legitimacy that enables the
                        society to function.  These rights are
                        generally based in natural or moral rights,
                        but are occasionally merely regulatory.
                        In addition, these rights depend on the
                        willingness of the individual to conform
                        to other portions of the legal code.  For
                        example, one's right to drive a car may be
                        affected by one's willingness to abide by the
                        speed limit or to refrain from drinking and
                        driving or to refrain from randomly running
                        over innocent bystanders.

                     *  civil rights:  rights invented by the state
                        which inhere to the individual solely because
                        that individual is a member of that state.
                        These are more significant than legal rights,
                        and require less conformance to other rules of
                        society.  Perhaps the most important such right
                        in a democracy is the right to vote.  While
                        this right demands compliance with certain
                        procedures (such as registration), it obtains
                        regardless of position, wisdom, or class.

                     *  political rights:  these are more difficult
                        to define, but generally political rights are
                        those processes to which one has a direct
                        claim as needful for participation in the
                        political system--the right to assemble and
                        the right to petition the government for
                        redress of grievances are among these.

                   I hope this helps.

                   --Missy P 2 B

           Oh, yes.  I almost forgot this:

p.s. Having made my complaints, I would like to compliment Travis
on noticing that 'rights' are an important concept in political
theory and that we need (i) some definition of what rights ARE
(ii) some notion about why people ought to have rights and (iii)
some rational means of deciding what specific rights people ought
to have.

            As to (i), see above.  (ii) implies a lack of understanding
            of the concept.  As rights are a just and absolute claim,
            it is not that we "ought to have them," but that we do,
            in fact, have them.  (iii) see (ii).