Individual Rights – The Only Rights
“Man holds these rights, not from the Collective nor for the Collective, but against the Collective—as a barrier which the Collective cannot cross; . . . these rights are man’s protection against all other men.” Ayn Rand
The term “rights” is used rather carelessly these days. It’s gone the way of the dollar - more diluted with each passing year.
To be precise, there is only one type of rights: individual rights. Any alleged “right” of one man, which necessitates the violation of the rights of another, is not and cannot be a right.
Right to work. Right to health care. Right to a secure old age. Right to housing, to welfare, to a mortgage. The list goes on and on. What do they have in common? They are not rights. They are all founded on the premise that one man’s need is another man’s obligation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our nation fought a bloody Civil War to abolish slavery based on race. We have yet to abolish slavery of one man to his fellow men, of the individual to the group. This requires first and foremost a moral revolution. But close behind, as part of the practical implementation, comes the separation of state and the economy.