A state is known by the rights it maintains, a concept famously proclaimed by Harold J. Laski. The philosophy of rights stands as the best contribution of liberal theory to political science. The bedrock of this philosophy lies with two historical documents: the US Declaration of Independence (1776) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789).
Fundamentally, rights act as guarantees provided to individuals to protect them against the arbitrary action of their state and government. This individualistic notion of rights initially emerged from the writings of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, but it has since seen new iterations, resulting in multiple modern theories and understandings.
Important Definitions
Various prominent thinkers have defined rights in distinct ways:
- Harold J. Laski: “Rights are those conditions of life, without which no man, in general, can seek to be at his best.”
- T. H. Green: “Rights are powers necessary for the fulfilment of man’s vocation as a moral being.”
- J. S. Mill: “If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be in silencing mankind.”
Categories of Rights
There are two broad categories of rights:
- Negative Rights: These rights reflect the influence of the concept of negative liberty. They are also referred to as ‘exclusionary’ rights because they treat individuals as completely sovereign entities. Examples of negative rights include the right to free speech and expression, as well as the right to carry guns in America.
- Positive Rights: In contrast, positive rights emphasize the need for state action to ensure that individuals can properly enjoy their rights. Examples of positive rights consist of the right to free education and the right to equal pay for equal work.
Different Types of Rights Theories
The table below outlines three primary theoretical approaches to the concept of rights, including their sources, justifications, and key thinkers.
| Features | Natural Right Theory | Legal Right Theory | Moral Right Theory |
| Sources of Rights | Intuition or Reason which is naturally available in humans. | Laws of the State determine the Rights. | Moral and Ethical standards of Society. |
| Justification | Rights are not granted by the State but come from the very nature of the Man. Humans enjoyed liberty in the state of nature, hence it should be ensured by the State. | Right can’t be claimed and protected without the establishment of the State. State has the power to protect the rights. | Morality in human nature gives the sense of right and wrong. Morality should be the basis of human action and rights. T.H. Green — ‘Rights emanate from the moral character of the man.’ |
| Thinkers | Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Thomas Paine | John Salmond, John Austin, Holland, Herbert L. A. Hart, Pollack, and Jeremy Bentham | Immanuel Kant and T.H. Green |
Group Rights Theory
- Definition: Group Rights, also known as Collective Rights, are rights held by a group qua a group, rather than individually by each of its members.
- Basic Idea: The fundamental concept is to consider a homogeneous group as a single unit and grant rights of common interest to that group as a whole.
- Examples: Examples of group rights include the right of Self-Determination for a nation, the right to the protection of culture for a cultural group, or the right to practice, propagate, and profess faith for a religious group.
- Distinction from Group Differentiated Rights: Group Rights should not be confused with the ‘group differentiated rights’ proposed by Will Kymlicka. Will Kymlicka’s ‘group differentiated rights’ are typically limited to particular groups, such as minorities, and do not extend to the broader concept of overarching group rights. An example of a group differentiated right is the right of self-government given to tribal communities under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Human Rights and Generations of Rights
Following Hitler’s atrocities against Jews during World War II, the concept of Human Rights took center stage in global discussions. This led to the codification of these discussions into an international pledge via the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…”, demonstrating that these rights are essentially based on the concept of modern and secular natural rights.
- Key Features of Human Rights: They represent Equality, Universality, Inalienability, Permanence, and Individuality.
- International Bill of Rights: This is composed of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966).
Three Generations of Rights (Karel Vasak)
Karel Vasak categorized rights into three distinct generations:
- Civil and Political Rights (Blue Rights): These include rights such as property rights and voting rights.
- Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Red Rights): These encompass rights such as the Right to Food, Right to Health, and Right to Social Security.
- Environment and Developmental Solidarity Rights (Green Rights): Also known as Soft Law, these include the Right to a Healthy Environment, Right to Intergenerational Equity, and Group and Collective Rights.
Emerging Fourth Generation of Human Rights
A new generation of rights is emerging, primarily centered around technology and digital existence. Examples include:
- The Right to Digital Self-Determination.
- The Right to Net Neutrality.
- The Right to be forgotten.
- The Right to Privacy.
Rights as ‘Trumps’
The liberal egalitarian thinker Ronald Dworkin conceptualized rights as supreme ideals.
- According to Dworkin, rights are irreplaceable and cannot be superseded by any other rational argument.
- He argued that no social norm or goal could precede rights.
- Rights are viewed as an inalienable and non-separable part of humanity that stand above all other non-right objectives, such as social prestige or traditions.
Important Books and Authors
| S.No. | Book | Author |
| 1 | Leviathan (1651) | Thomas Hobbes |
| 2 | Two Treatises on Government (1690) | John Locke |
| 3 | A Grammar of Politics (1925) | Harold J. Laski |
| 4 | Taking Rights Seriously (1977) | Ronald Dworkin |
| 5 | The International Dimensions of Human Rights (1982) | Karel Vasak |
| 6 | Rights of Man (1791) | Thomas Paine |
| 7 | Jurisprudence Or the Theory of the Law (1902) | John Salmond |
| 8 | The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832) | John Austin |
| 9 | The Metaphysics of Morals (1797) | Immanuel Kant |