Concept of a Right

An individual entitlement to something

Rights Based Approach
• Walt Disney supply chain, 17 years old died- second largest media conglomerate.
• The clash of rights-
right to equal pay for equal work
right to manage
property rights
right to know (kites cases)
Bill of rights- …unalienable rights,.. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness”
Absence of infliction of injury might still violate people’s rights(utilitarian wont believe
in it)
Right of privacy and possessions – (Suits)
Rights versus utility
• Individual versus the society
• Rights limit the validity of appeals of social benefits and to numbers
• Rights overriding by utilitarian standards-War time civilian rights
curbed for public welfare-
• Negative rights: requires others to not interfere
• Positive rights: require others to help us get that right
• Negative= conservative ideas
• Positive=liberal or progressives
• And then we have contractual rights attached to some contractual
duties.
Kant’s ideas
• There are certain moral rights and duties that everyone possess
regardless of the utility it brings about.
• Categorical imperative:
• 1st formulation: do unto others as you would have them do unto you
-reversibility: the persons reasons for acting must be the
reasons that the person would be willing to have all others to use
“How would you like it if someone did that to you?”
-Universalizability: the persons reasons for acting must be
reasons for everyone to act on ‘What if everyone did that?’
• 2nd formulation:-dignity that makes not them objects
• Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether yourself or
any other, never as a means but always as an end. – free and rational
person
-respect each other’s freedom-treat as how the person consents
to be treated
-contribute to each others ability to pursue those ends she has
freely and rationally chosen