R: Natural rights are a social construct

Thursday, September 20th at 7.30pm

Rights, rights, rights. Everybody has them, and everybody gets theirs violated at some point or another. It seems as though we live in an age of an ever-expanding charter of rights, but fewer insitutions who have the military force or political will to enforce them all - and even fewer individuals within them who have any working knowledge of where their rights originate. It seems as though it is this lack of understanding that leads to bold (and largely unfounded) statements like, "[Jobs/birth control/welfare/child support/insert-your-wish-list-here] is a human right!" This article from our problematic (yet well-intentioned) libertarian friends at Reason.com highlights the deeply problematic rhetorical use of "rights" at the Democratic convention this month.

So how did we get here? When did we lose our understanding of what is and isn't a right? If rights are sourced from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence claims, are there a set number of them? If they origniate from the communities that establish them, why can't anything become a right if enough people agree? What is the difference between positive rights and negative rights? Does the state have an interest in protecting the rights of some - but not all? Is this just? Is this utilitarian? (Hint: Yes.) Join us in the Berkeley Mendenhall Room this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. as we debate the source, extent, and merits of "natural rights."