Are there natural rights? Science Fiction writer Robert Heinlein was a libertarian soul but even he had some concerns on the matter. In his novel Starship Troopers, a character stated that there are no natural rights:
"What 'right' to life has a man who is drowning in the Pacific?"
Now that is an interesting point but it is only the STARTING point of a discussion. Surely if a person falls into the ocean their natural inclination will be to strive or fight for life. No one is going to passively think to themselves "Well, I have no right to live so I guess I'll start inhaling water" and gamely go down to a watery grave. No, practically everybody would try to stay above water, to swim, to find something floatable to buoy them up. They have a RIGHT to do so. They may not be successful but right and wrong do not depend on whether you succeed. That idea should have gone out with the medieval idea of trial by combat with God determining the winner.
We have rights, among them free thought, free expression, the right to effective self defense (or survival), the right to self determination. Survival comes into play in the natural world. It is in social interaction with other humans that rights become more complicated. If two people fall into the ocean, they both have the right to fight to survive. But not by having one use the other as a float, drowning them to stay alive.
Some people assume that we have rights because the government or the majority of the populace chooses not infringe on them. The idea that freedom comes from the government is abominable: governments do not provide freedom, they either infringe or are prevented from infringing on it. You have rights, whether the populace respects them or not. If a mob of fellow humans tries to take a right away from you and you are willing to keep that right by *any* means necessary, you as an individual have that right. Obviously, they need to be delineated with exactness: my right to live does not give me the right to armed robbery. That does not mean they don't exist.
I would argue that part of the reason our society is such a mess is because this matter is not carefully considered. Some call their rights god-given rights but while I am not an atheist, I don't think our rights come from God. I think they come from us as conscious individuals determined to make ourselves safe, to make an impact on the world and to prosper as much as circumstances allow.
I would enjoy any and all feedback on the matter.
