Blogs about: Negative Rights
Featured Blog
<a href="http://onegodonemaster.tumblr.com/post/9356439212">onegodonemaster</a>: <blockquote> I find it strange that so many of my fellow libertarians and anarchists oppose and ridicule animal rights with such passion. For one thing, an animal right is perfectly libertarian in that it is a <em>negative </em>right. Unlike incoherent <a href="http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0202c.asp">positive rights</a>, such as the… </blockquote> Until I was about 5 years old, I wanted to be a dog. Since then (when I realized that I couldn’t), animal rights were as important to me as children’s. Yes, I used to get harassed about this <strong>a lot</strong>, but the idea is the same: neither children nor animals can assert their own rights and protect themselves from harm. The difference is that while the government at least <em>pretends</em> to protect children’s rights (as a former mentor of middle school girls, I can tell you that CPS waits until they have several reports on one child to investigate sexual abuse; it’s disgusting), but animal abuse or murder is considered <em>property damage</em>. That means that, for the most part, sociopaths who start off torturing cats and dogs are not charged in court if those animals are strays. And while I’m sure there are many people who refuse to admit that humans are technically animals and that the only provable distinction between us and the rest of the animal kingdom is that we have DNA composed of human genes. That’s pretty much it. All language, cognitive, etc. theories might sound nice, but most of them use circular logic: ‘we know that we can think about the future because we are the ones who are thinking’. While I don’t expect people to all become vegetarian or at least buy free-range, organic animal products, I don’t think it’s much to ask to protect basic animal rights, such as the<strong> right not to be tortured</strong>. There is no real justification, especially by libertarians, who fight <em>against</em> perpetrators of pain and suffering, for dismissing animal rights. The more emotionally distanced we become from the suffering of animals, the more emotionally stunted we become with regard to human suffering. And if you ignore the [very preventable] suffering of so many other animals, how can you look your dog in the eyes every day and tell him that you care about him?
Animal Rights from a Libertarian Perspective… more →
thecheekylibertarian
The Revolution Passed in the Night
wrote 3 weeks ago: Many things are holding the headlines hostage, the terrorist attacks, the crippling effects of Obama … more →
What Are Human Rights? (45): Negative or Positive Rights? Ctd.
wrote 4 months ago: (source) I realize now that this previous post wasn’t any good. I need to do a lot more to cla … more →
Some thoughts on the "right" to marry whom you wish
— 2 comments
wrote 8 months ago: Some thoughts on the “right” to marry whom you wish My reblog for “Reblog Thursday … more →
Collective Bargaining "Rights" (Reprise)
wrote 11 months ago: Garrett Epps of the American Prospect correctly noted in an article released Thursday that the major … more →
The Supreme Reason Ron Paul Supporters Should Vote for Romney in November
— 2 comments
wrote 11 months ago: “He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.” -Sun Tzu, The Art … more →
Liberty: the Active Right
— 1 comment
wrote 11 months ago: Now that we have a basic understanding of what a right truly is, I want to take a more in-depth look … more →
Rights
— 3 comments
wrote 11 months ago: First things first: we need a foundation. I believe that in all areas of life, human interaction sho … more →
Ron Paul, Murray Rothbard, and the loss of freedom
— 2 comments
wrote 1 year ago: Libertarian and conservative critics of progressives seem to endlessly repeat the same refrain that … more →
POLITICAL: Negative rights and free condoms
— 1 comment
wrote 1 year ago: http://www.keywestlou.com/2012/03/weather-yesterday-was-fantastic-once.html Saturday, March 3, 2012 … more →
How to Build a Democracy
wrote 1 year ago: It is the height of hubris to claim that one knows how to build a democracy from scratch. The U.S. h … more →
A Manifesto of Hopeless Abstractions
— 4 comments
wrote 1 year ago: I have started this blog mostly in order to give voice to my political opinions, so I feel that an a … more →
The notion of "positive rights"
wrote 1 year ago: INTRO I’m lucky enough to be in a class that’s analyzing the #Occupy movement. I’m … more →
wrote 1 year ago: Libertarianism is not and does not pretend to be a complete moral, or aesthetic theory; it is only a … more →
onegodonemaster:
I find it strange that so many of my fellow libertarians and anarchists oppose and ridicule animal rights with such passion. For one thing, an animal right is perfectly libertarian in that it is a negative right. Unlike incoherent positive rights, such as the…
Until I was about 5 years old, I wanted to be a dog. Since then (when I realized that I couldn’t), animal rights were as important to me as children’s. Yes, I used to get harassed about this a lot, but the idea is the same: neither children nor animals can assert their own rights and protect themselves from harm. The difference is that while the government at least pretends to protect children’s rights (as a former mentor of middle school girls, I can tell you that CPS waits until they have several reports on one child to investigate sexual abuse; it’s disgusting), but animal abuse or murder is considered property damage. That means that, for the most part, sociopaths who start off torturing cats and dogs are not charged in court if those animals are strays.
And while I’m sure there are many people who refuse to admit that humans are technically animals and that the only provable distinction between us and the rest of the animal kingdom is that we have DNA composed of human genes. That’s pretty much it. All language, cognitive, etc. theories might sound nice, but most of them use circular logic: ‘we know that we can think about the future because we are the ones who are thinking’. While I don’t expect people to all become vegetarian or at least buy free-range, organic animal products, I don’t think it’s much to ask to protect basic animal rights, such as the right not to be tortured. There is no real justification, especially by libertarians, who fight against perpetrators of pain and suffering, for dismissing animal rights. The more emotionally distanced we become from the suffering of animals, the more emotionally stunted we become with regard to human suffering. And if you ignore the [very preventable] suffering of so many other animals, how can you look your dog in the eyes every day and tell him that you care about him?
wrote 1 year ago: Animal Rights from a Libertarian Perspective … more →
Bill of Rights Transcript
wrote 1 year ago: Image via Wikipedia The Bill of Rights: A Transcription The Preamble to The Bill of Rights Congress … more →
Our Natural Rights
wrote 2 years ago: Rights are one of those terms that have been so abused that it is generally meaningless without qual … more →
What Are Human Rights? (27): What Does It Mean To Have Rights?
— 3 comments
wrote 2 years ago: When thinking about what it means to have a right it’s sometimes useful to replace the word … more →
Civil Liberties and Order #11
wrote 2 years ago: We are said to be ”in the land of the free”. Freedoms must be balanced against restrict … more →
Philosophical Flaws in Libertarian Thought
— 1 comment
wrote 2 years ago: By Jerry Liu I’d like to start out with three personal points. First of all, I believe deeply in Lib … more →
