by - L. Richardson
The Western world's commitment to defending individual rights and fundamental freedoms, once the pride and cornerstone of our societies, is now facing an existential crisis. Inspired by the monumental French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the US Bill of Rights, which were not just documents but beacons of liberty, our governments have steadily eroded these classical liberties [2].
This disturbing erosion of fundamental freedoms and overreach of Western intelligence agencies, through misguided policies and misinterpretation of rights as state obligations, poses grave threats to freedom of expression and undermines the very essence of these seminal rights documents. It's not just a matter of concern; it's a matter of urgency. Alarmingly, there is widespread public complacency towards these insidious violations of negative rights, signaling an urgent need to advocate for the defense of individual rights against such encroachments.
The Neglect of Individual Rights
A Concerning Trend
Despite the Western world's historical role in championing individual rights through seminal documents like the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and the US Bill of Rights, there has been a concerning trend of neglecting and undermining these principles. Once hailed as beacons of liberty, these documents have been subjected to liberal interpretations and outright violations, often under the guise of state obligations or societal progress.
- Eroding Foundations
- Protecting individual rights depends on legislators' and judges' willingness to adhere to the principles enshrined in these foundational texts.
- However, forced conscription, confiscatory taxation, and other encroachments on fundamental freedoms have become increasingly prevalent, eroding the foundations for these rights.
- Public Complacency
- While there are positive signs of disapproval among the general population, such as a measurable loss of trust in mainstream media and political leaders, there is no massive opposition to these glaring violations of individual rights.
- This complacency stems from a naive belief that Western liberal democracies have reached the pinnacle of moral and political development, leading to a dangerous disregard for the ongoing struggle to preserve liberty.
A Postmodern Paradigm
Aspect / Impact
Subjectivity of Language / In the prevailing postmodernist culture, the meanings of words are considered subjective and positivist, undermining the significance of rights documents.
Statist Intervention / There is a growing acceptance, if not preference, for statist intervention over the adherence to principles of individual liberty, often viewed as outdated or quaint.
Disregarding Property Rights / Fundamental rights, particularly property rights, are easily undermined in this climate, reflecting the poor protection afforded by these documents.
The neglect of individual rights is a multifaceted issue rooted in both complacency and a shifting cultural paradigm that devalues the very principles upon which these rights were established. Efforts must continue unabated to inform and educate the public about the importance of protecting negative rights against constant attempts to violate them, lest the hard-won victories of the past be rendered meaningless.
The Focus on Positive Rights
The Dilution of Natural Rights
The third way individual rights are undermined is when they are interpreted too widely and thus diluted. This happens when rights are expanded to include negative and positive rights, which the state is expected to enforce. Expanding rights to include positive rights legitimizes the state's growth and its coercive, unjust wealth redistribution to assure "equality of opportunity," or worse, "equality of outcome," violating the natural property right.
For example, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights has positive "rights" such as the right to work, equal pay, rest, and leisure. However, these are not "rights" in the same sense as the natural right to property, and their enforcement by the state necessarily violates the property rights of others. As Murray Rothbard wrote in The Ethics of Liberty, "The very concept of 'rights' is a 'negative' one, demarcating the areas of a person's action that no man may properly interfere with [3]."
The Postmodern Paradigm Shift
- Subjectivity of Language: In the prevailing postmodernist culture, the meanings of words are considered subjective positivist and are not to be taken very seriously. This reflects a zeitgeist that:
- Devalues the significance of rights documents
- Considers statist intervention as acceptable and a much better means to "move" society than "quaint, old principles."
- Disregard for Property Rights: Fundamental rights, particularly property rights, are easily undermined in this climate, reflecting the poor protection afforded by these documents.
- Draconian Measures: The draconian measures planned to fight "climate change" are an excellent example of this disregard for natural rights.
The focus on positive rights and the postmodernist paradigm shift has eroded the foundations upon which individual rights were established, paving the way for state overreach and the violation of natural rights in the name of societal progress or collective goals.
Disregarding Natural Rights
The Postmodern Paradigm Shift
The neglect of individual rights and the disregard for natural rights are deeply rooted in the prevailing postmodernist culture, where the meanings of words are considered subjective and positivist. This zeitgeist devalues the significance of rights documents. It considers statist intervention acceptable and a better means to "move" society than adhering to "quaint, old principles."
- Subjectivity of Language
- The postmodern view treats language as inherently subjective, undermining the objective meaning and intent behind seminal rights documents.
- This relativistic approach to language erodes the foundations of natural rights, rendering them malleable and open to reinterpretation.
- Embrace of Statism
- There is a growing acceptance, if not preference, for statist intervention over the adherence to principles of individual liberty, often viewed as outdated or quaint.
- This shift towards statism legitimizes the expansion of government power and the erosion of natural rights in the name of societal progress or collective goals.
- Disregard for Property Rights
- Fundamental rights, particularly property rights, are easily undermined in this climate, reflecting the poor protection afforded by these documents.
- The exorbitant fiscal and inflationary pressures on Western populations, as well as the unprecedented and unjustified confinements of healthy people during the COVID-19 pandemic, are severe violations of property rights.
Draconian Measures and Overreach
The draconian measures planned to be imposed to fight "climate change" are a prime example of this disregard for natural rights. Western governments have given previously unthinkable powers to police and security forces, and mass surveillance programs of entire populations have been revealed by whistleblowers like Wikileaks.
Violation / Description
Censorship / Censorship and propaganda are standard practices by governments and mainstream media in Western democracies, where control of public opinion is critical.
Surveillance / Mass surveillance programs of entire populations have been implemented, violating the right to privacy.
Overreach / Western governments have granted unprecedented powers to law enforcement and security agencies, infringing individual liberties.
The postmodern paradigm shift, with the embrace of statism and the disregard for property rights, has paved the way for severe violations of natural rights in the Western world. Addressing this neglect requires a return to the principles of natural rights and a renewed commitment to educating the public about the importance of preserving individual liberty against state coercion.
Conclusion
The defense of individual rights and fundamental freedoms is an ongoing struggle that requires vigilance and a renewed commitment to the principles enshrined in seminal documents like the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the US Bill of Rights [4] [2]. The concern of neglecting and undermining these principles, often under the guise of state obligations or societal progress, poses a grave threat to the essence of liberty. As the additional instruction rightly points out, anti-Western nation-states and international institutions have been gnawing at the freedom and rights of individuals and businesses for years, while pro-freedom advocates have been fighting to uphold these inalienable rights [1].
It is imperative to address this neglect by educating the public about preserving individual liberty against state coercion and the postmodern paradigm shift that devalues the significance of rights documents. Only through a renewed commitment to the principles of natural rights and a rejection of the dilution of these rights through the embrace of positive rights can we safeguard the hard-won victories of the past and ensure a future where individual freedoms are genuinely protected.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights#Violations
- Article 1 of the First Protocol – Protect Our Property! | each other. https://eachother.org.uk/article-1-of-the-first-protocol-protect-our-property/
- Block, W. (2004). Libertarianism, positive obligations, and property abandonment: Children's rights. International Journal of Social Economics, 31(3/4), 275-286.
- 150 Years of Lincoln's New Birth of Freedom | Latest News. https://pioneerinstitute.org/education/150-years-of-lincolns-new-birth-of-freedom/
- https://www.infowars.com/posts/the-danger-of-the-wests-neglect-of-individual-rights/
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/modern-socialism-forced-socialization
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/fighting-surveillance-state-begins-individual
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/censorship-through-centuries-free-speech-suppression-government-and-mainstream-media
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/lockdowns-not-pandemic-created-havoc
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/western-ruling-elite-its-development-and-its-betrayal
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/x-marks-spot-social-medias-last-stand
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/restrict-act-launches-new-war-free-speech
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/covid-19-will-political-and-health-scandals-erupt-public-light
- https://mises.org/podcasts/audio-mises-wire/forced-vaccinations-france-bring-both-repression-and-protest
- https://mises.org/mises-daily/or-without-god-natural-law-and-property-rights
- https://wikileaks.org/the-spyfiles.html
- https://mises.org/library/book/ethics-liberty
- https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
- https://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/constant-the-liberty-of-ancients-compared-with-that-of-moderns-1819
- https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript
- https://www.elysee.fr/en/french-presidency/the-declaration-of-the-rights-of-man-and-of-the-citizen#:~:text=Men%20are%20born%20and%20remain,considerations%20of%20the%20common%20good.&text=The%20aim%20of%20every%20political%20association%20is%20the%20preservation%20of,Safety%20and%20Resistance%20to%20Oppression.
- https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/ipsos-trust-in-professions-veracity-index-2023
- https://www.axios.com/2023/10/24/americans-trust-in-media-plummets-to-historic-low-poll
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/mastering-future-megalomaniacal-ambitions-wef
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/mastering-future-megalomaniacal-ambitions-wef
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/dangers-cashless-economy
- https://mises.org/mises-wire/central-bank-digital-currency-primer
