The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 NATURAL RIGHTS 631wrongly if it chooses to take thataction? By the logic of the opponentsof natural rights, the Naziregime had a perfect justificationfor recalling the rights, includingthe right to life of 6,000,000 humanbeings, and should not be condemnedor thought of as evil forsimply exercising the prerogativeto which, as a state, it was clearlyentitled. Thus, the denial of naturalrights quickly resolves itselfinto a rejection of the ethical differencesbetween governments,making a slave-state the moralequal of a republic.We now arrive at the final question,"What are the naturalrights?" Although it cannot beanswered precisely, that does notmean it is unanswerable. As hasbeen said before, natural rightsprecede the State and hence area prio'f'li in character. Naturalrights are every man's at birthand are not State-granted. If eachman has an equal claim to liberty,that is, the use of his rights, hecan be limited in his freedom onlyby the claims of other men to anequal share of liberty. The circleof rights around every man extendsas far as it may without intrudingon the rights of othermen. For this reason are the"rights" granted by the State bogusrights. A right to receive welfare,for example, is invalid sinceit requires the abridgment, howeverpartial, of the rights of thecitizen who is compelled to pay forthe welfare benefits given to someoneelse. Natural rights, by contrast,require no abridgment ofanother individual's rights to exist,but are limited only by thesame natural rights of anotherperson. I)Nature's WayIDEAS ON'LIBERTYIN MAKING his ethical choices, man is guided by a code believed tohave the sanction of God; and experience has shown that the goodlife to which his instinct impels him can be achieved only if hemakes his decisions accordingly. The Ten Commandments havebeen called the Word of God; they can also be described as naturallaw, and natural law has been described as nature's way of applyingmeans to ends.FRANK CHODOROV, "Free Will and the Market Place"