Human Rights Do Not Exist

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/are-there-natural-human-rights/ Do natural human rights exist? Or are they simply inventions of Enlightened philosophers? The author of this essay, Michael Boylan, makes comparisons of different philosophers and their points of view.

I believe that people have no more rights than other animals. They do, however, have freedom to do as they choose. If people are not satisfied with a government, they can try to remove and replace their government. A government derives its power from the people. Therefore, a government without the people’s support is nothing.

Human rights are used to describe anything ranging from bare necessities such as food, to more abstract ideas such as free speech. A government is meant to fulfill the wants and needs of the people, which are classified as human rights. There isn’t a clear way to define these rights. A government defines human rights and chooses whether or not to fulfill them. The people can choose whether they are satisfied with these rights or not. I believe the central friction is when it is obvious to the people that others have a higher standard of life.

In the information age, it is hard to remain oblivious to opulent lifestyles of other people or nations. More and more people, having observed a better life, feel that they deserve it too. This causes protests, segregation, persecution, and war. Human rights are only a term used to justify conflict.