NationStates Jolt Archive

What constitutes a fundamental right? I bring this up because of a discussion I was having with TilEnca in the U.N. forum, and the question of what a fundamental right actually *is* has eluded me. Could someone help me out here?

Someone once said "Your rights end where others' rights begin". I don't know if that helps, but someone definitely said it.

What constitutes a fundamental right?

I figure it's a two-fold response.

First, I believe a fundamental right to be that which does not usurp our basic liberties of life, liberty, and property without due process.

Second, I believe a fundamental right to include that which we, as humans, cannot survive without. So, I include within the realm of fundamental rights: sustenance (food and water), shelter, and health care.

A fundamental right is anything that this is unfair to deprive someone of needlessly, these two rights are life and liberty. Nothing else is fundamental.

Hm, I think that has a lot to do with personal political beliefs. If you're more social in your thinking you tend to believe more and more as "fundamental rights" wheras if you're more libertarian things beyond self-determination are harder and harder to see as "fundamental". I think that the biggies are agreed upon, like life, liberty, puruit of happiness, religious freedom, freedom of thought/expression. But then again there are several iterations of this which are highly disagreed upon, "right to life = no abortion?" or "Freedom of expression = no censorship? or = gay marriage?" The generic things are easy to define, but as you get more specific everyone has a different view of how to apply the "big'ns"

Oh and on a side note I like your signature...
"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." -P.J. O'Rourke
PJ's a regular panelist on "Wait, Wait don't tell me" (http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/). He's awesome. It's a really good show to get away from too-serious political stuff. Saturdays at 1 for me.

Someone once said "Your rights end where others' rights begin". I don't know if that helps, but someone definitely said it.

I think it was Thomas Jefferson who said that. That statement doesn't really address the question of what a fundamental right is, just how we should manage our behavior regarding the use of those rights. Thanks for trying, though. This is a really weird and difficult question.

I figure it's a two-fold response.

First, I believe a fundamental right to be that which does not usurp our basic liberties of life, liberty, and property without due process.

Second, I believe a fundamental right to include that which we, as humans, cannot survive without. So, I include within the realm of fundamental rights: sustenance (food and water), shelter, and health care.

The first part I don't really get, but I like the second part. Thanks.

A fundamental right is anything that this is unfair to deprive someone of needlessly, these two rights are life and liberty. Nothing else is fundamental.

Thanks. That's a clear and concise definition. :)

Hm, I think that has a lot to do with personal political beliefs. If you're more social in your thinking you tend to believe more and more as "fundamental rights" wheras if you're more libertarian things beyond self-determination are harder and harder to see as "fundamental". I think that the biggies are agreed upon, like life, liberty, puruit of happiness, religious freedom, freedom of thought/expression. But then again there are several iterations of this which are highly disagreed upon, "right to life = no abortion?" or "Freedom of expression = no censorship? or = gay marriage?" The generic things are easy to define, but as you get more specific everyone has a different view of how to apply the "big'ns"

Oh and on a side note I like your signature...

PJ's a regular panelist on "Wait, Wait don't tell me" (http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/). He's awesome. It's a really good show to get away from too-serious political stuff. Saturdays at 1 for me.

Thanks for your thoughts, and the compliment. :) Would you like to express your individual conception of what constitutes a fundamental right?

What constitutes a fundamental right?What constitutes any right? The actual possibility of those who give the right to guarantee its fulfilment.