What are Human Rights?

Human Rights in the context of: Economic Rights vs Political Rights, Natural Rights vs. Legal Rights, and the Leviathan

It’s the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Everyone agrees that Human Rights are a good thing, but not everyone agrees what they are. Even if people agree on what Human Rights are, there is no statement about their prioritization. I will consider here the classification of Human Rights and how they should be prioritized in the context of the State.

Political Rights

Human Rights may be categorized into Political Rights and Economic Rights.

These rights could be construed as the core Rights associated with America and the Western world, such as: Freedom of Speech, Right to Bear Arms, Right to Religion, Right to peaceful assembly, Freedom from arbitrary and indefinite detention, Right to a trial and a speedy trial, and so on.

To most people, these political rights are the main considerations explicitly, and the “only” consideration implicitly, with respect to rights. Furthermore, they are indistinguishable from “Human Rights.” Indeed, Social Media, mainstream media, and private conversations abound with intense debate as to what constitutes the following…