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 Ann (main path) |
 Dee |
 Ayesha |
| Positive Rights |
| Ann
Speaking
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 I think there is an important distinction that we need to keep in mind when we talk about rights. As Dee said, some rights are called "natural" rights. Natural rights are not created by governments. Whatever their foundation
is -- theology, science, human nature, whatever -- it is not an act of government. For example, we might say that people have a right not to be killed even if there is no government
established for the territory where they live. That would be a natural
right in one sense.Other rights are established by governments. In our country, they are written into the constitution, enacted by legislatures, or declared by the Supreme count. Now, I believe in positive rights -- to health care, for example. But the positive rights I believe in are created by government. It would be more accurate for me to say that I believe that people should have a right to health care enacted by our government. I'm not talking about natural rights when I say that. And, of course, as a utilitarian, I believe that government should created these rights because they do so much for the welfare of so many human beings. |
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