Difference between revisions of "Inalienable Rights"
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John Locke was an English political theorist who wrote about the origins of political power in the 17th century. His <u>Second Treatise of Government</u> (written in the 1670s) was known and quoted frequently by Americans in the 1770s. This article relies heavily on Locke's writing, plagiarizing and quoting it freely and was, thus, influenced our founding documents. (See, in particular, Chapter 2). We will also draw from founding documents such as the [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html Declaration of Independence], the Constitution of the United States, sources such as F.A. Hayek's <u>The Constitution of Liberty</u>, Alex deTocqueville's <u>Democracy in America</u>, and other sources as other editors introduce them - this being a rich subject. | John Locke was an English political theorist who wrote about the origins of political power in the 17th century. His <u>Second Treatise of Government</u> (written in the 1670s) was known and quoted frequently by Americans in the 1770s. This article relies heavily on Locke's writing, plagiarizing and quoting it freely and was, thus, influenced our founding documents. (See, in particular, Chapter 2). We will also draw from founding documents such as the [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html Declaration of Independence], the Constitution of the United States, sources such as F.A. Hayek's <u>The Constitution of Liberty</u>, Alex deTocqueville's <u>Democracy in America</u>, and other sources as other editors introduce them - this being a rich subject. | ||
===America's Declaration of Rights=== | ===America's Declaration of Rights=== | ||
| − | Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, America's Declaration of Independence is a compelling document. It is a radical document - but then the founders of the United States were not conservatives - they were radicals in the cause of liberty. The Declaration is worth understanding and is the subject of [[Declaration of Independence| | + | Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, America's Declaration of Independence is a compelling document. It is a radical document - but then the founders of the United States were not conservatives - they were radicals in the cause of liberty, which is what it originally mean to be 'liberal'. The Declaration is worth understanding and is the subject of [[Declaration of Independence|a separate article]]. It is sufficient here to quote the most famous of its lines - which may be the first use of the term 'inalienable rights'. (Jefferson uses 'unalienable'.) |
| − | *Note that Jefferson uses 'Right' in a couple of ways - we have "unalienable Rights" and because of that it is "the Right of the People" to change their government to protect those rights. The emphases below are ours. | + | *Note that Jefferson uses 'Right' in a couple of ways - we have "unalienable Rights" and because of that it is "the Right of the People" to change their government to protect those rights. (The emphases below are ours.) |
| − | **We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain ''unalienable Rights'', that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is ''the Right of the People'' to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, ''it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government . . .'' | + | **"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain ''unalienable Rights'', that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is ''the Right of the People'' to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, ''it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government . . .''" |
===Fundamental Rights=== | ===Fundamental Rights=== | ||
According to Locke: To understand the rights of political power, one must understand the natural state of all men - which is: | According to Locke: To understand the rights of political power, one must understand the natural state of all men - which is: | ||
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===Liberty and Liberties=== | ===Liberty and Liberties=== | ||
F.A. Hayek, in his book <u>The Constitution of Liberty</u>, states in the first chapter that it is concerned with "that condition of men in which coercion of some by others is reduced as much as is possible in society". | F.A. Hayek, in his book <u>The Constitution of Liberty</u>, states in the first chapter that it is concerned with "that condition of men in which coercion of some by others is reduced as much as is possible in society". | ||
| − | *'''"A state of liberty or freedom"''': He also brings in the concept of arbitrariness by talking about "the state in which a man is not subject to coercion by the arbitrary will of another" and calls this personal | + | *'''"A state of liberty or freedom"''': He also brings in the concept of arbitrariness by talking about "the state in which a man is not subject to coercion by the arbitrary will of another" and calls this personal freedom. |
| − | + | *Hayek discusses the meaning of 'liberty' and 'freedom', defining his use of the terms first, and then differentiating it from other uses. This is the subject of an article titled [[Liberty and Liberties|Liberty and Liberties]]. It is an important article since one of the more common distortions of the truth is to admit a right to freedom and then to assign additional meanings to the term in an attempt to justify assertions. | |
|HasAuthor=Jeff | |HasAuthor=Jeff | ||
|HasArticleDate=2014/01/30 | |HasArticleDate=2014/01/30 | ||
}} | }} | ||
Revision as of 14:33, 22 March 2014
Start of article about inalienable rights. 2014/01/30 User:Jeff
