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Among secular philosophers, one of the most common alternatives
to utilitarianism is a theory of moral rights. Rights are typically
attributed to individuals and are intended to protect the individual
from abuse and exploitation. Rights theories are often at odds
with utilitarianism because they also insulate the individual
from the results of utilitarian calculations. It might be, for
example, that human welfare would be increased if a blind person
were given one of your eyes. In spite of this fact, most theories
stressing rights would allow you to veto the transfer.
The justification of rights is a difficult task, and there is
no agreement on how to carry it out. Different theorists
take different approaches:
- John Rawls attempts to justify basic rights on the ground that they would be chosen by a group of rational individuals acting behind a veil of ignorance.
- Alan Gewirth attempts to justify basic rights because "certain objects are the proximate, necessary conditions of human action."
- Loren Lomasky attempts to justify basic rights because they are necessary for people to live as what he calls "project pursuers."
If we can justify a basic right to liberty, we may then be able to justify a right to free speech as a corollary of that basic right.