Natural Rights

But I have my rights! How many times have you heard this phrase? So often people in today’s world will cite their “rights” when confronted with adversity.

You can’t arrest me, I have my rights!
You can’t silence me, I have my rights!
It’s my right to be safe!
It’s my right to buy a cake from you!
Healthcare is my right!
Education is my right!

I could go on, but the point is made. Are all of these statements valid? What are my rights? Often, people have an understanding that a right is something extremely important that everyone should have. For example, it’s important to receive healthcare when sick. Therefore, healthcare is a basic right for all people, no matter their financial situation.

Let’s explore. A right by definition is: a claim that is due an individual simply by their own existence. This means that I possess my rights only because I exist, and for no other reason. My rights are my own, and in a free society must be granted me by all other individuals. This is why we must be careful what we label as a right. If something is a right, another must give it to me. If healthcare is a right, a doctor must treat me no matter the cost or objection. To force another to do labor for me simply because I exist is slavery. Rights are powerful things that must be correctly and carefully named. Despite searching for more, I have only identified three rights. These are the same three which Locke identified in his Second Treatise. Life, Liberty, and Private Property.

Life

This is probably the easiest right to explain. Every individual has the right to be alive. Simple, but accepting this can have profound implications. No one is able to take your life from you without justifiable cause, the only just cause being self-preservation. Taken to its logical conclusion, this means that all wars, all executions, all killing of any kind that is not done for the direct purpose of defense, is in violation of this right. A human being has the right to live, and no one can take that away, period. Not unless the killer is actively stopping the victim from killing another. I may write in the future on this facet of the right to life, often called the “non-aggression principle.”

Liberty

The most basic definition of liberty is the freedom to choose. An individual’s ability to choose everything for themselves. To choose what to wear, what to say, how to say it, where to work, how to think, how to pray, who to love, what to buy, where to go, what to do with every single second of an individual’s own life. This always brings up the question, “Are there any limits to this liberty?” The short answer is, no. Every individual has the right to live exactly how they choose to, and to react to other individuals also acting in their liberty. An example, I have the right to choose to wear a purple shoe on my head and scream about the end of the world. Others have the freedom to respond to that in whatever way they choose. Most would likely ignore me, others might mock, but no one has the right to stop me. That would infringe on my right to liberty. The right to liberty goes far beyond lifestyle choices. At its heart, it is the right to think and act according to one’s own conscience.

Private Property

This is the one that always confuses people. I will preface this explanation by stating that this is not the right for every individual to have a piece of land. This is the right to possess private property, it is the right of ownership. I do not have the right to claim a house as mine if I want it, but I do have the right to act in my liberty and offer to purchase a house. If both parties choose to pursue the action, the ownership of the house would then pass to me. I now have the right of ownership over this house. If anyone tries to take this property from me by force, they are violating my right to private property. It is this right upon which the free market hinges. The right to one’s own labor, goods, and services. Without this right, all things would be communal. No one would have the right to claim anything as their own property. Historically, we know such a system to be economically disastrous.

Limitations

No one can take any of my three natural rights from me, with one exception. If I violate another’s natural rights (e.g. killing, constraining, or stealing) then all bets are off. Locke called this a “state of war.” I have essentially declared war on all other individuals by violating another’s rights. Once this happens, others have the option to strip me of life, liberty, or property. This is why in a free society it can be justified to execute a murderer, or fine those who steal, or imprison others. Whether the state of war is ever satisfied depends upon the nature of the offense and the standards of the society. Typically, the state of war is ended once equity has been achieved. For example, property has been restored or life has been taken.

It is doubtless that many will continue to rally for what they define as rights. However, in a free society we must continue to fight for the true natural rights of humanity. Life, Liberty, and Private Property are the birthrights of our children. Rights that have been torn from the hands of tyranny over generations. So many have bled and died for these rights all over this world. They were not easily restored, and they must not be given away. As Patrick Henry so famously said, "Give me Liberty or give me Death!"

Mr. Savage