triff's notes on rights

what is a right? a right is a normative rule about what is owed of people or allowed of people.

rights express a certain relationship between two parties, the rights holders and the rights observers. Rights have two faces, depending on whether they are viewed from the perspective of the person who has the right or from the POV of the person who ought to respect the right.

what's an entitlement: a permission to act from the standpoint of the rights holder (it imposes a duty on others to oblige).

natural rights: are "natural" in the sense of "not man-made", one owns them because one belongs in the HOMO SAPIENS club. therefore, they are universal. they apply to all people, and do not depend from the laws of any specific society. they are inherent.

absolute right: an absolute right is the strongest right, which cannot be overridden by any other types of considerations (e.g., utility or expedience) that do not involve rights. example, right to freedom. imagine the right of a city to impose levies on my property for the construction of a project that benefits a section of the town my property is not on. in this case my right to freedom overrules the rights of the town to demand my acquiescence.  

prima facie rights: it means that at first sight, the right appears applicable but upon closer scrutiny, we may decide that other considerations outweigh it. 

legal rights: these are based on a society's customs, laws, statutes or actions by legislatures the right to vote (a felon may not enjoy that right).

negative rights: these are permissions not to do things, or entitlements to be left alone. another way of looking at it is that negative rights are natural. Lockean proviso of rights: right to freedom, private property and pursuit of happiness.

positive right: is an entitlement ("one is entitled to") a specific service or treatment from others, and these rights have been called positive rights. example: welfare rights. see that positive rights are rights one consents in others having. one is not "born with them".

once again: a difference between negative and positive rights is that a negative right forbids others from acting against the right holder, while a positive right obligates others to act with respect to the right holder. If you think of the Kantian categorical imperative, a negative right can be associated with perfect duties (one is obligated to perform them) while positive rights are connected to imperfect duties (one is not obligated to perform them).  

political rights: they protect individuals' freedoms from infringement by governments, social organizations, and other private individuals. they include peoples' physical and mental integrity, life, and safety. they include: protection from discrimination on grounds such as race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, color, age, political affiliation, ethnicity, religion, and disability. they also include negative rights such as freedom of thought, speech, religion, press, assembly, and movement. 

from the previous definition of political rights, one infers the rights to equal opportunity.

right to equal opportunity: is a state of fairness in society (in education or employment or housing) where people are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified.

example: take a person applying for a job. 1- her chances should be based solely on her qualifications. she should not be discriminated against because of position, connections, religion, sex, ethnicity,  race, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

making a distinction based on anything other than her qualifications would amount to denying others of equal opportunity.