At the heart of any successful society are the rights afforded to its populace
Fraternity /frəˈtəːnɪti/ noun
Oxford Languages
- A group of people sharing a common profession or interests.
In my previous two essays, I covered how we should approach economics and electoral reform in a modern society, pertaining to ideas from liberalism and my own developments. In this essay we will be covering the topic of rights; what the fundamental freedoms are, what rights should be afforded, and the reasoning behind this. For the sake of humanising and visualising these ideas, he/him will be used as a gender neutral pronoun describing mankind.
Preamble
Rights are the backbone of society as we know it. Being part of society means to subscribe to its rules in exchange for its benefits, which requires the voluntary relinquishing of some freedoms in order to better protect all the other freedoms one possesses.
Society, as a collection of individuals, is something which forms naturally as a benefit to all which subscribe to it. No man is truly free unless he fraternises with his adversaries, uniting in an agreement that together they are freer than alone.
It is a truth which is indeed self-evident that all men are created equal, and such each possesses the same unalienable rights as another, chiefly among which is the right to be free from bondage, as no man should be subject to servitude and deemed superior nor inferior to his peers based off characteristics out of his control such as race, gender, or sexuality.
Endowed to all by his creator by residing in this universe is the individuality of every man, serving firstly for the betterment of his and his families lives before he serves for the betterment of others. Every man’s individuality can only be realised through liberty as otherwise he such relies on others to have as he does, rather than on himself to fulfil his own potential.
Individuality brings the right to control ones own decisions, be them well informed or ill-thought, as it is mans own experience which best justifies mans own decisions. No man should make decisions for others under the pretence that they are decisions for himself, nor shall he have decisions made for him under the pretence that they are decisions for others to make.
Fundamental Freedoms
Through man’s individuality comes his own thoughts, thus it is necessary that each man is afforded the freedom of speech such that he can freely express his own thoughts and opinions. This freedom extends to speech which may be deemed offensive, but does not mean that offensive speech cannot be criticised for being dangerous and harmful. As Evelyn Beatrice Hall wrote in The Friends of Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Every man is entitled to his liberty, and any action which reduces this liberty should not be tolerated. Words are not actions which reduce liberties, but rather words on themselves. An Englishman who expresses a dislike for foreigners purely because they are not English has every right to do so despite what he expresses being abhorrent, however if he then decides he does not want to allow foreigners into his establishment because they are not English, he has infringed on the liberty of another man and thus his actions must not be tolerated and instead he be punished by the state.
A difference in opinions and world view, no matter how incorrect one may see that difference as, is a representation of our own individuality. When society is subscribed to, it is the responsibility of society to ensure that everyone’s views are heard, and that best we can we find a middle ground in order to keep the most people possible happy. Without working with those in the minority, and without finding a middle ground we find ourselves in (as John Stuart Mill called it) the tyranny of the majority, where we deem the most popular opinion as the only one to take into account, rather than viewing all opinions equally. This is the driving principle behind proportional representation, which I delved into how it should work in my previous essay.
The difference in opinions and world views individuals possess leads naturally to the right of said individuals to publish his own thoughts and world view, thus giving us freedom of the press. Freedom of the press does not mean freedom to knowingly mislead and misinform, as it is also the right to every individual to know the truth rather than to rely on another’s goodwill in order to be given a fair picture which helps him form his own opinions and world views.
Along with freedom to have differing world views comes the freedom of religion. Every man is entitled to have his own beliefs in regard to spirituality and his creator, be his creator a deity or simply his mother and father. Religious beliefs are not an excuse for intolerance when each individual has his own relationship with religion, as the set of guidelines one follows comes as much from his own beliefs as the political ideology one subscribes himself to. Tying in with this is the freedom of association, where every man has himself the right to decide what organisations to be a part of, and the right to decide who he does indeed fraternise with.
What are all of these freedoms without the freedom of expression, as without the freedom to express his opinions, and the freedom to express his individuality, man becomes boring and loses what makes him himself, instead being a machine doing as instructed.
These fundamental freedoms are the foundations on which all other rights are built upon. Without these freedoms there is no liberty, no equality and no democracy. Man becomes subservient and loses his ability to truly be free, as his is always at the whim of the he’d of the society by which he subscribes with no way out.
Fundamental Rights
No man is truly free unless his freedoms are protected. When man subscribes to society and relinquishes some of his liberty, he does so in order for the rights he still holds to be protected. It it thus the responsibility of the state to protect his freedoms and protect his rights. When man violates the harm principle, he is therefore deserving of punishment as he has broken societies rules. Punishments must be fair, and not cruel and unusual, so in committing a crime man must be punished through fine, through jail time or through mandatory volunteering to help the less fortunate. Man loses his liberty once convicted of a crime, but that does not mean he loses his being a human. Prison should be a place that is safe, liveable and designed to rehabilitate those that are inside its walls, rather than to punish those inside of its walls. No one commits a crime expecting to be caught, it being a crime in itself and moral objections are the only deterrents which will stop criminals from being criminals.
The most prominent right, and the one most evil to take away from man is the right to life. Every man once born has the right to choose whether he will continue to live or he will die, and no other is able to make that decision for him. One possessing the right to life also gives him the right to death. It is not the decision of the state to whether someone with a debilitating disease should continue living, but rather the decision of the one with the debilitating disease. The choice of euthanasia should be legal, but the state can and should advise against it without preventing one from deciding to go ahead with it.
The right to life only extends to man who has been born, as a foetus in the womb has not yet started its life, but is rather still developing into life. The right to a good life is something we all do possess, and if a foetus will be unwanted, or if a foetus will cause health issues for the mother if carried to term, or if a foetus will be severely unwell or have a debilitating disease, it is the right of the mother to decide to terminate the pregnancy. Abortions will still occur whether legal or not, so it is best for them to be legal so they can be regulated and they can be kept safe.
As it is the role of the state to ensure freedoms are protected, the freedom of the press grants man the right to be informed, and thus educated. If the state does not ensure quality education is available for all its citizens who wish to receive it, it is violating the liberties of its citizens. A universal free education service is of the upmost importance for the state to provide, and it should be the benchmark by which all private eduction services are compared to. Mill discussed this in On Liberty, and his ideas of testing to ensure that the eduction is upheld to a quality standard are fantastic ideas which simply have to be implemented in any education system without them. This also extends to higher education, and while education at a degree level should be paid, the state should ensure those unable to afford it are subsidised in order to achieve it, be that through a 0% interest loan or even just granting them money.
Each man also possesses the right to privacy, which can only be taken away through a warrant granted by a judge with good reason. Man should be able to use the internet, walk the street and converse with his peers without worry what he’s doing is being watched, tracked or listened to actively. As in committing a crime man is punished through losing his liberty, so it is necessary due process is followed. Every man deserves the right to a fair trial, and should not be required to incriminate himself nor be convicted without due process. A strong, fair and trustworthy legal system is the most important protection on mans rights.
The law must also have a fundamental understanding that sexuality and gender are not things a person chooses. Attraction to those able to consent, and acting on that attraction with consent is something all are entitled to, and all these relationships must be treated equally. Same-sex marriage comes with opposite-sex marriage, and to outlaw one would be to discriminate and infringe on those individuals liberties. Also with this is the fundamental fact that transgender people exist. We’ve observed transgender tendencies in other animals too, so it is not something unnatural and it is not something that people simply choose. Everyone deserves the right to identify as the gender they wish to, and every adult should be freely able to receive treatment in order to better biologically align themselves with the gender they identify with. Treatment should only apply to those over 18, as the irreversible damage that can be caused whilst a child is undergoing puberty is a risk the state must intervene to prevent with. Gender identity can evolve over time, and in a time where children are most hormonal, and most subject to change it is not safe for them to receive treatment while undergoing puberty. Transgender people deserve the same treatment as those who identify as the gender they were born with, and mixed-gender spaces should become more commonplace in order to reduce the false idea transgender women are a danger in female-only spaces.
Man subscribes to the state in order for these freedoms and rights to be protected, as otherwise he is not truly free. Together these rights enable man to achieve his full potential and allow him to succeed on his journey in the pursuit of happiness, a journey in which he is becoming more likely to achieve in each passing year.