A short summary of this chapter for last-minute revision: definitions, comparison tables and key quotes. The full notes are available separately.
1 Definition of a right and its two grounds
Right: a right is essentially an entitlement or a justified claim. It denotes what we are entitled to as citizens, as individuals and as human beings, something the rest of society must recognise as a legitimate claim that must be upheld. Not everything I want or regard as desirable is a right.
| Ground | Reasoning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A life of dignity | matters to everyone in society, hence universal | right to livelihood, freedom of expression |
| Our well-being | helps develop capacity and talent | right to education (designated universal) |
2 From natural rights to human rights
Terms worth remembering
Natural rights (17th-18th c.)given by nature/God, inalienable: life, liberty, property
Human rights (today’s term)rights entitled to all simply for being human, sought/arrived at by humans themselves
Kant’s argumentevery person has dignity, however uneducated/poor/powerless; treat people as ends, not means
UDHR10 December 1948, adopted by the UN General Assembly
3 Kant’s quote, verbatim
“… everything has either a price or a dignity. What has a price is such that something else can also be put in its place as its equivalent; by contrast, that which is elevated above all price, and admits of no equivalent, has a dignity.”
4 Legal recognition versus the basis of a right
4.1 Two things, don’t mix them up
Legal recognition
- gives a right special status in society
- Fundamental Rights = India’s constitutional term
- this is NOT the “basis” of a right
The real basis of a right
- a life of dignity, and our well-being
- rights keep getting expanded and reinterpreted
- to include previously excluded groups
5 Three kinds of rights
| Kind | Example |
|---|---|
| Political + civil liberties | voting, contesting elections, fair trial, protest |
| Economic | housing, medical facilities, minimum wage, rural employment guarantee scheme |
| Cultural | mother-tongue education, institutions for language and culture |
6 Four responsibilities, in order
Duties that come with rights
1. Common goodozone layer, pollution, planting trees, for future generations
2. Respect othersthe right claimed for oneself must be granted to others too
3. Balance in conflictfreedom of expression versus someone’s privacy
4. Vigilancewatch for restrictions growing in the name of national security
“One man’s rights end where the other man’s nose begins.”
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