The concept of rights has become a vague notion in our post modern world. At it’s most basic form it concerns claims a person has of ownership. This ownership can be material or simply a freedom for oneself. Ownership has to do with having authority to make decisions with your life and possessions. A free person decides what his life is going to consist of and an owner of property decides what what to do with it. Rights and justice go hand in hand.
Justice is a measure of fairness. When there is an agreement between two parties concerning freedoms or material ownership, justice means that both parties are satisfied that the agreement was kept. When making a claim, sometimes an arbitrator is needed to help the parties perceive they are getting their just due. This is one concept of rights and it is synonymous with having a claim to something. Some call this positive rights.
When we look at enumerated rights, they are an agreement between a people and their government. These are more limits than anything. There are no property claims but a claim of who has authority over specific areas of the citizen’s lives. It is necessary to have a Constitutions and Bill of Rights so our governing powers don’t make claims over areas of our lives that is outside their scope. Governing authority tend to end up thinking the citizens exist for their benefit rather than the correct view that they are servants to the people. History shows that this encroachment only grows until a society reaches a point where reforms or outright rebellions occur to bring freedom back to the citizens. These laws are are what some call negative rights.
A famous mention of the word “rights” is in the Declaration of Independence. In a world that had classes of elites making claims of control over other peoples lives, this was a stark contrast. Breeding and class limited people from reaching their potential at that time. Kings claimed to have authority over people that was given by God. In our environment today it is difficult to comprehend limits like this. Today, people manufacture classes and limits in order to give themselves a cause. Being the champion of a cause gives honor and wealth to some. But there is a big difference between actual rights violations and perceived causes. A person having a cause can only demand a passive response, but if it is a violation of rights, a radical response is needed. This is why causes and rights have become synonymous in the modern age. Being poor amid opportunity is a sad thing and we should all take up the cause of the poor. But no one has a right to wealth, but we all have a right to earn it.
The Rational Element 