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To begin with, a quotation from the American Declaration of Independence:
\"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.\"
1.1 Legal, Moral and Human rights
A right entitles us to have or to do certain things. Rights can be divided into three main groups: the legal, moral and human rights.
1.1.1 Legal Rights
Legal Rights are rights laid down in laws. For that reason, legal rights are the most solid of all rights, because they can be defended in a national court of law. Most, but not all, legal rights are written down. The basic legal law in some countries is a written constitution or bill of rights (like Germany or the United States of America). In these documents the countries have written down what citizens are allowed to do. British law works the other way round (like everything). There is nothing like a basic law guaranteeing people's rights. In Britain people have the right to do everything, unless a law is forbidding it.
1.1.2 Moral Rights
In contrast to legal rights, moral rights are not facts, but are based on general principles of fairness and justice. A moral right may or may not be supported by the law of the land. Some of the moral rights are claimed by people in particular situations. They are not rights that can be claimed by all peoples in all situations. What the law lays down can sometimes conflict with what people see as their moral rights.
1.1.3 Human Rights
Human rights apply to all people at all times in all situations, so they are universal moral rights. By definition, human rights are not earned, bought or inherent. Human rights are possessed by everybody in the world because they are human. People are equally entitled to them regardless of their gender, race, colour, language, national origin, age class or religious creed.
Some human rights are more important than others. The right to life is the most basic of all, without it all other rights are in danger. Freedom of speech or the right to rest and leisure, for instance, count for very little if our right to life is not guaranteed. So the less important rights of one person must end where the basic rights of another person begin.
1.1.3.1 Liberty-oriented and Security-Oriented Rights
Liberty-oriented rights (or civil and political rights) are rights concerned with giving individuals freedom of action and choice. They tend to limit the scope of government, because they advance the rights of every individual.
Security-oriented rights (or economic, social and cultural rights) seek to protect people's physical, material, social and economic well-being. The achievement of security-oriented rights requires governmental intervention and leads to greater interference in the lives of individuals. But the handicap is that it is very difficult to convert them into legal rights.
Through this contrast between liberty-oriented and security-oriented rights, it is very difficult to find a useful middle course.
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