What’s your theory of where rights come from? One possibility is that there is a set of “natural rights” which are universal and built into “human nature”. One of the best arguments in favor of natural rights theory was written by Leo Strauss — “Natural Rights and HIstory”. Personally, I don’t think his argument, or any argument I’ve seen in favor of natural rights, holds up. My own feeling is that rights are situationally determined, and in part they are established by demand. In most societies throughout history there was no possibility that universal health insurance could have been a right. Now it can be a right, because it’s economically and socially possible, and most technologically advanced societies recognize that it’s a right. When the citizens of the US demand health insurance as a right, then it will be a right.
What’s your theory of where rights come from? One possibility is that there is a set of “natural rights” which are universal and built into “human nature”. One of the best arguments in favor of natural rights theory was written by Leo Strauss — “Natural Rights and HIstory”. Personally, I don’t think his argument, or any argument I’ve seen in favor of natural rights, holds up. My own feeling is that rights are situationally determined, and in part they are established by demand. In most societies throughout history there was no possibility that universal health insurance could have been a right. Now it can be a right, because it’s economically and socially possible, and most technologically advanced societies recognize that it’s a right. When the citizens of the US demand health insurance as a right, then it will be a right.