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| Positive Rights |
| Ann
Speaking
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 It is sometimes said that we cannot have positive rights (to health care, for example) because poor societies could not afford such a right.But is this so different from negative rights? They cost something too. For example, everyone agrees that people have a right not to be assaulted. Even the night watchman state of classical liberalism or modern libertarianism includes such a right (as a negative right, Dee would say). But suppose that a city is so poor that it cannot afford anything more than a skeletal police force. Or perhaps none at all. Does that imply that I do not have a right not to be assaulted? No. It means that we live in a very imperfect world in which my rights cannot always be protected and exercised. Is that any different from the case of health care? |
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