A Libertarian acquaintance recently asked me if I knew of any good books dealing with the issue of democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t think of any right now,\u201d I said. \u201cWhat exactly are you interested in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRights,\u201d he replied. \u201cI am curious about individual rights and democracy. I want to know which rights are alienable, and which are not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut aren\u2019t all rights alienable?\u201d I ventured.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not so sure,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, after all, wasn\u2019t America founded on the very principle of \u2018inalienable rights\u2019–such as \u2018life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but you can alienate those rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, if I suddenly decide to join a Buddhist monastery, for example, I probably would be foregoing my right to the pursuit of happiness, no?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, because it could be only temporary. You could decide to quit at any time, and thereby reclaim your right to pursue happiness as we know it. Freely choosing not to exercise your right is not the same as permanently forfeiting the right itself. In other words, you have the right not to exercise your rights–but you do not have the right to alienate your rights forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what if I decide to commit suicide? Wouldn\u2019t I then be permanently choosing not to exercise my right to life, and wouldn\u2019t this permanency then, in effect, amount to the irrevocable alienation of my hitherto \u2018inalienable\u2019 right to life?<\/p>\n
\u201cOr suppose I commit a nefarious crime, wouldn\u2019t I then be forfeiting my right to liberty, and wouldn\u2019t this constitute a form of right alienation?<\/p>\n
\u201cOr to take yet another example: suppose Mr. X damages my property. This naturally gives me a right to compensation.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuppose I waive that right? Suppose I forgive it outright? Or suppose I assign that right of compensation to another person? Am I freely deciding not to exercise my right? If so, could I then exercise it at some later point? Or have I permanently alienated my right in this case?<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you said that certain rights were inalienable. Which ones?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a right, if you own a right, you ought to be able to freely discard it if you wish–otherwise, you do not really own it.<\/p>\n
\u201cProperty, including the property of rights, entails use and disposal. If you can\u2019t voluntarily give it away, if you can\u2019t destroy it, it does not really belong to you. And if it does not belong to you, then who does it belong to? God? The government?<\/p>\n
\u201cRights can be alienated–but only through reason and voluntary consent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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