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By Root 814 0

a right. Similarly, we have a right to acquire these goods in order to be able to fulfill our wants and needs, at least to the extent that these goods are scarce (unlike air, except for a scuba diver, who then must possess exclusive rights to his oxygen tank). The easiest good to analyze is food because it is such a basic necessity for all human beings. Prior to being claimed by any person on earth, a piece of fruit is no one’s property. If fruit is the property of all humans on earth, and could never be privately owned, then every time we bite into an apple, we would be eating someone else’s property; or if it is no one’s property, then we would be stealing each time we bite. It is unreasonable to believe in a theory that results in humans violating another’s rights every time they wish to eat; this would lead to the choice between constant violations of others’ rights or starvation.

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Nor is the scheme of natural rights a uniquely religious concept. The only premise one need accept is that humans are created; it is immaterial whether it is by God or by nature. If a Catholic scholar declares that the female birth cycle is a miracle from God, and an atheist scientist explains the process with a focus on human biology, anatomy, chemistry, and physics, does it undermine the occurrence of human pregnancy? Of course not; they are just two explanations of the same naturally occurring phenomenon, and though they start off with differing premises, they end up in the same place. Why then should a Catholic scholar’s interpretation of Natural Rights being a gift from God be any different from an atheist scientist believing our Natural Rights come from our humanity? Just as pregnancy exists no matter how it is explained, the different explanations of the source of Natural Rights, God or rational humanity, do not change humans’ possession of Natural Rights upon our entering into existence.

Governments Protect and Serve Others; You Don’t

It is worth noting that the Founders, having experienced the tyranny of both kings and democratically elected majorities, adamantly rejected the notion that rights came from a society, rather than by virtue of being human. But how is such a notion possible? Is society not just a collection of individuals? How could you have the right to liberty, yet at the same time be forced to serve others’ best interests? It is impossible, and best explained by Ayn Rand: “It only stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.”1

The word collectivist is appropriate for this view not only because it is a collective view of society, but also because it is the guardians who are the ones that are collecting our sacrifices, which in their view, we have no right to. No one’s rights to life or liberty or property are protected in this system, because if your life and your liberty and your property are not in the best interest of society, then society can take them away, or as the American lawyer, newspaper editor, and politician Gideon J. Tucker said, “No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”2 This is a purely subjective theory of morality; and since any behavior can be rationalized while using a subjective theory of morals, it is a horrible theory upon which to base the governing of a society. Take the southern states in this country in the pre–Civil War era; when viewed as a collective society, dominated by white southern male farmers, was slavery not in the best interest of those who dominated that society? Any theory of government where slavery could be justified is immoral and abhorrent. While slavery might be in the best interest of the majority of members in society, it is definitely not in the best interest of the minorities in that society (the slaves).

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History is full of examples of atrocities perpetrated by societies acting under the will of the majority.