Why Some "Rights" Are Wrong
Recently on Twitter, a triggered Leftist thought it was important for me to know that, “You have a right NOT TO BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.” This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a progressive think that shouting “you have a right to not be discriminated against” would be convincing. What this has convinced me of is that we, as citizens, need to have a serious discussion about what rights are, where they come from, and what their limits are.
Rights are freedoms or entitlements we inherently have as human beings. These freedoms can be exercised independent of other individuals and do not require consent. A good rule of thumb is this: if an action requires the consent of another person, it isn't a right, it's a contract. These rights do not come from society or from government, but from God. He is the one who gave them to us, and they are co-eternal with Him. The Founders understood that rights came from God and that the true role of government is to protect those rights.
What are the natural rights? How do they work?
The right to life
You have the right to your own life and cannot have it taken away unjustly or without due process. In the case of pregnancy, the Founders clarified that this right extends to the unborn from the moment the baby “stirs in the womb,” which is to say as soon as the mother becomes aware that she is pregnant.
The right to defend yourself
Because you have a right to life, you have a right to protect it from someone or something that is trying to harm you or your family.
The right to bear arms
You have the right to own weapons and use them to defend yourself and cannot be coerced to give them up.
The right of belief or thought
Independent of anyone else you can believe in God or not. Thus you cannot be coerced to believe or not believe in something.
Freedom of religious expression
You are free to act on your religious beliefs and cannot be prevented from acting on them or be forced to participate in religious activities.
The right to speak your mind
You are able to speak freely without fear of violence or coercion by others or the government.
The right to own and control property
You can own property independently of others, control it, and can transfer rights to property in voluntary contracts. You cannot be forced to give up your property to another, transfer it, or use it in a certain way. This does not guarantee you property, but ensures that you cannot be prevented from acquiring or creating property through your own merit or consensual contract. Once acquired, your property is protected. To illustrate this, if you acquire property justly, either through transfer, labor, or acquisition (such as settling land that is unowned), the government or another third party cannot step in and deny you that property or prevent you from obtaining what you have justly received, acquired, earned, or created.
The right to control your own labor
You control your own body, and by extension the fruit of your labor, as it is your property. This includes the money you earn. As your labor and the fruit thereof is your property, you cannot be coerced to provide your labor or money to another person.
The right to associate or not associate
You have the inherent right to control with whom you interact, do business, and spend your time. You cannot be coerced to interact, do business, or associate with someone.
The right to privacy
You have the right to keep to yourself and keep personal information private.
The right to assemble
You have the right to form groups, clubs, and invite others to join. You are also free to choose not to join clubs, churches, etc. You cannot be coerced or prevented from joining a group or coming together with others.
Freedom of the press
You have the right to write what you want and to share it with others. You cannot be coerced to write or not write something and share it.
The right to make contracts
You have the right to independently enter into or not enter into contracts or agreements with others. This includes exchanges of money, goods, services, and creation of employment. The terms of these contracts are determined by you and the other party, and cannot be forced or shaped by third parties. This also means you cannot be forced into a contract or coerced to make a contract.
These natural rights do have limitations, in that in the exercising of our rights, we cannot violate the rights of another individual. Examples of this would be your right of religious expression is limited in that it cannot violate the rights of another, such as their right to life. Your right to acquire, own, and control property does not give you the right to take the property of another or prevent them from justly acquiring or controlling their property, as that is theft and violates their property rights. You are free to choose who you do business or interact with, but you cannot force someone else to do business with you or interact with you. You have the right to enter into contracts, but not coerce someone else to enter into a contract, be it for their labor or goods, as one is slavery and the other is theft. Additionally, when you attempt to violate the rights of another, such as their life, you forfeit your right to life when they defend themselves. When we violate the rights of others and break just laws, we forfeit our rights as punishment.
What about the rights under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? These provisions either enshrine the commitment of the government to protecting these rights or describe the mechanism for the protection of them. Due process or unnecessary search and seizure rights are created to protect these natural rights and create a just process for the loss of property, freedom of movement, privacy, or life.
So if your rights cannot overrule the rights of another person, why isn’t there a right to not be discriminated against? The answer is simple, there isn’t one and it can only be created by violating the rights of someone else. In this case their property rights, right to control their labor, right to associate (or not associate), and the right to not be coerced into contracts. Here are a list of some other things that people push for or assert as a right that are in fact not rights, and why. You’ll notice that all of them violate the rights of others.
Right to be served by a business
A right to be served by a business violates
Property rights- You are saying that you have the right to another person’s property or goods
Labor rights- You are claiming a right to another person’s labor, which is slavery
Right of association- You are forcing the business to associate with you and do business with you
Right to enter contracts- You are coercing them into a non-consensual contract.
Right to healthcare
This isn’t a right in that it depends on the consent of another person, making it a contract.
Violating their labor rights- creates a right to another’s labor, which is slavery.
Violates property rights
Property, in the form of money, will have to be taken by force to finance it.
Forces business to run a certain way, limiting their control of their own property
Violates contract rights
Forces businesses to accept contracts they did not consensually make, such as a mandating the coverage of preexisting conditions.
Redistribution of wealth
Can only be achieved through violating property rights
The property (money) of one person must be taken by force and given to someone else
Affirmative Action
Violates Property rights
Coercing businesses to hire certain quotas of people regardless of qualification and limits their control of their own businesses
Violates contract rights
Forces businesses to make contracts with people it might not have and on terms they did not voluntarily make
Mandating equal pay
Violates property rights
Coerces businesses to be operated according to government desires not as the owner desires, limiting their control of the business
Violates contract rights
Businesses are required by law to make contracts it might not have voluntarily made
Right to education
Violates right to control one’s labor
States that individuals have the right to be educated or served by someone, or a right to demand their labor, also known as slavery.
Right to a minimum wage
Violates property rights
Forces a business to run a certain way, limiting their control over their own property
Violates contract rights
Coerces businesses to make specific contracts
As our discussion has shown, whenever government creates a right, also known as a positive right, it does so at the expense of the natural rights of someone else, making it immoral and contrary to the purpose of government. Governments exist to protect our rights, not to violate them on the behalf of others.
By understanding these rights, how they work, their limits, and the true role of government in protecting them, we as citizens can better understand what we are entitled to do and not to do by nature of being human beings, and can better push back against the violation of rights by individuals, groups, and government itself. So can I be discriminated against? You bet. It may not be fun or kind, but it is a greater wrong to force someone to associate or do business with me than for me to have to look elsewhere for a good or service. I help make the government more tyrannical if I try to force someone to be kind. So let us do our part as citizens to protect the rights of all people, even those with whom we disagree or think are unkind, because if we don’t, there might not be anyone left to stand up for our rights when they come for us.