On "Rights"

Florida man arrested for
stealing two bras, celebrating
release of girlfriend from jail.

Ron Paul has apparently now said that there is no “right” to education, nor is there a right to health care. Of course, depending upon where you start from, humans have no rights at all. That is, there are no “god-given rights,” no “natural rights,” no “human rights,” no “civil rights,” no “religious rights,” no “basic rights,” no “moral rights,” no “inalienable rights,” just no rights, period. That is, if you are speaking of humans in the state of nature. As an individual human you have no right even to life, no right to be protected from other creatures stronger and more vicious than you are. As you are not well equipped to survive in nature, with no fangs, no claws, not much size, no ink or poisonous odor, no deadly venom, no dragon breath, little speed or brute strength, no armor for protection, and so on, you, as a human, derive your strength from being a member of a group. The group protects you, at least in so far as any protection at all is available. It is also the group that educates you (socializes and enculturates you), and attempts to heal you when you become ill or handicapped, and feeds you if at all possible. In short, whatever rights you enjoy are granted you as a member of an organized group.

It just so happens that in all highly industrialized societies, except ours, you have a right to health care, because it is a right extended to you by virtue of your being a member of that group. Similarly, in most societies it is acknowledged that education is not only a right but a necessity if the group is to continue to exist and flourish. As a member of such a group you have a right to private property, privacy, and in the best of societies, a right to free speech, and protection from your own government if it becomes too dictatorial or arbitrary. As a member of society you not only have certain rights, you also have certain obligations. There are both prescriptions and proscriptions you are supposed to honor. In our particular society you are supposed to enjoy the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Republicans, at least those in our society at the moment, apparently do not think we should recognize rights that are more usually taken for granted in virtually all other societies. They argue, as does Ron Paul, that you have no right to health care (and apparently by implication no necessary or intrinsic right to life). You should have no right to education (that would seem to interfere with your pursuit of happiness). And, of course, if you have no health care and no education, you also most probably will have no liberty. Our current crop of Republicans apparently want us to return to the “law of the jungle,” where only the “strong will survive.” Thus they believe the unemployed should be left without any means at all, workers should have no right to bargain for their wages, education (and science) is not worth funding, if you are sick it’s just tough luck for you, and if you show up for emergency treatment you should be allowed to die on the doorstep if you cannot afford to live. I do not think this is an erroneous description of their beliefs, based upon what they say and do.

In addition to their beliefs about the existence or non-existence of rights, they also believe those with money should be rewarded with tax breaks and special treatment, whereas those without means are better left ignored. They believe that corporations making billions of dollars in profits year after year are somehow deserving of tax breaks, but those who work for wages should be content to fall behind year after year, and those individuals with more money than they can possibly use in a dozen lifetimes should be able to accumulate even more, while those who have little means should give up their homes, pensions, and jobs so the profits of the wealthy few can be improved. From the point of view of a viable, functional, and continuing society this is, of course, quite insane. But this is the good ol’ USA where insanity is rapidly becoming the norm. We are seeing a replay of what occurred in the 1870’s and the 1900’s, the recurrent battle of capital (management) against labor (the people). Fascism has made its ugly occurrence in Wisconsin and Ohio, and threatens to spread elsewhere. States are threatening to secede from the union, or at least refuse to obey federal laws, illegal militias are forming, the basic tenets of our (supposed) democracy are being threatened. Once again we are faced with a decisive moment. It’s as if we have learned nothing at all from the past and are doomed to repeat it still again.

LKBIQ:
The rich will do anything for the poor but get off their backs.”
Karl Marx

TILT :
Guernica was reduced to rubble on an afternoon in 1937 when German planes launched the first massive bombing of innocent civilians.