Rights: Definition and Purpose

Rights are claims to either do something, such as the right to speech, or to have something, such as the right to life, liberty, and property.

They represent the opportunities required by individuals to develop their personality, with the recognition and support of the state.

According to Laski, rights are the essential conditions of social life without which individuals cannot seek to achieve their best. Similarly, Bosanquet defines rights as claims recognized by society and enforced by the law.

Purpose of Rights

1. Development of Personality:

The primary purpose of rights is to enhance human personality, enabling individuals to become reasonable, achieve their aspirations, and reach their full potential.

2. Dignify Human Life:

Rights ensure that every person, regardless of economic status, can live a life of dignity. For instance, a bricklayer holds the same dignity in the eyes of the state as a business tycoon. This is enshrined in the Indian Constitution through Article 14, which guarantees the Right to Equality.

3. Creation of a Just Society:

Negative Rights Vs Positive Rights

Negative Rights:

These define areas where the state is not allowed to interfere, ensuring that individual actions remain unrestricted. Examples include freedom of speech, thought, and expression. Classical liberalism emphasizes negative rights, advocating for minimal state interference (a “police state” limited to maintaining law and order).

Positive Rights:

These impose a duty on the state to take positive actions to create better conditions for individual development. Examples include the right to medical care, legal aid, education, and work. Affirmative actions such as reservations and welfare schemes for weaker sections are rooted in positive rights.

Conclusion: A capitalist state like the USA prioritizes negative rights, while a statist regime like Russia emphasizes positive rights. Welfare states such as Switzerland and Finland adopt a balanced approach, combining both positive and negative rights.

Natural Rights Theory

The theory of natural rights reflects the liberal perspective that certain rights are inherent to human beings by virtue of their nature. These rights are believed to exist prior to the establishment of the state and cannot be revoked by it, as they are not granted by the state.

John Locke, a prominent advocate of natural rights theory, identified life, liberty, and property as gifts of nature. Other philosophers interpreted natural rights in their own ways:

Hobbes: Right to life

Rousseau: Liberty and equality.

Thomas Jefferson: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Thomas Paine (in Rights of Man): Liberty, security, and the right to resist oppression.

Rights are thus the cornerstone of individual development, human dignity, and social justice, representing both protections from and responsibilities of the state.