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The "individual-i" symbol, invented by Bruce Schneier to promote individual rights.

Individual rights refer to the rights of the individual, distinct from civil rights, legal rights, and group rights (or privileges) granted by government and varying with the organization and administration of the government. Individual rights identify a boundary of just social interactions, in the presence or absence of government. This article is about the moral/legal concept. ... A man holds a monkey by a rope around her neck, a scene epitomizing the idea of animal ownership. ... Childrens rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young,[1] including their right to association with both Biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education, health care... The Fathers rights movement has been characterized as a civil rights movement,[1][2] whose members are primarily interested in issues affecting fathers and children related to family law, including child custody and child support sometimes after divorce. ... For the LGBT rights article for a particular country, see LGBT rights by country. ... Group rights are rights that all members of a group have by virtue of being in that group. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The term inalienable rights (or unalienable rights) refers to a set of human rights that are in some sense fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered. ... In modern English and European systems of jurisprudence and law, a right is the legal or moral entitlement to do or refrain from doing something or to obtain or refrain from obtaining an action, thing or recognition in civil society. ... This box:      Mens Rights involves the promotion of male equality, rights, and freedoms in society. ... For other uses, see Universalism (disambiguation). ... Within the philosophy of human rights, some philosophers and political scientists make a distinction between negative and positive rights. ... Reproductive rights (also Procreative liberty) refers to human rights in areas of sexual reproduction, including the rights to reproduce (such as opposition to forced sterilization) as well as rights not to reproduce (such as support for access to birth control and abortion), the right to privacy, medical coverage, right to... The division of human rights into three generations was initially proposed in 1979 by the Czech jurist Karel Vasak at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg. ... The term women’s rights typically refers to freedoms inherently possessed by women and girls of all ages, which may be institutionalized or ignored and/or illegitimately suppressed by law or custom in a particular society. ... Labor rights or workers rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. ... Manifestations Slavery · Racial profiling · Lynching Hate speech · Hate crime · Hate groups Genocide · Holocaust · Pogrom Ethnocide · Ethnic cleansing · Race war Religious persecution · Gay bashing Pedophobia · Ephebiphobia Movements Discriminatory Aryanism · Neo-Nazism · Supremacism Kahanism Anti-discriminatory Abolitionism · Civil rights · Gay rights Womens/Universal suffrage · Mens rights Childrens rights · Youth... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... Contributions to liberal theory is a partial list of individual contributions on a worldwide scale. ... Modern liberalism in the United States is a form of liberalism that began in the United States in the last years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. ... Classical liberalism (also known as traditional liberalism[1] and laissez-faire liberalism[2]) is a doctrine stressing the importance of human rationality, individual property rights, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional limitations of government, free markets, and individual freedom from restraint as exemplified in the writings of Adam... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Cultural liberalism is a form of liberalism which stresses the freedom of the individual from what Lord Acton called the tyrany of the majority, the right of the non-conformist to march to a different drummer. ... The liberal theory of economics is the theory of economics in classical liberalism developed in the Enlightenment, and believed to be first fully formulated by Adam Smith which advocates minimal interference by government in the economy. ... This article is about the political philosophy based on private property rights. ... Goverence Beliefs Origins People Theories Ideas Topics Capitalism Portal Economics Portal Politics Portal        For the school of international relations, see Neoliberalism in international relations. ... This article is about political philosophy of Ordoliberalism. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Social liberalism is either a synonym for new liberalism or a label used by progressive liberal parties in order to differentiate themselves from the more conservative liberal parties, especially when there are two or more liberal parties in a country. ... For other uses, see Freedom. ... For articles with similar names and topics, see Individual (disambiguation). ... Laissez-faire is short for laissez faire, laissez passer, a French phrase meaning to let things alone, let them pass. First used by the eighteenth century Physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it is now used as a synonym for strict free market economics. ... Liberal democracy is a form of government. ... Liberal neutrality is the idea that the liberal state should not promote any particular conception of the good. This idea formed a cornerstone of John Rawls work and has been developed by many other liberal thinkers e. ... The philosophical concept of negative liberty refers to an individuals liberty from being subjected to the authority of others. ... Positive liberty refers to the opportunity and ability to act to fulfill ones own potential, as opposed to negative liberty, which refers to freedom from restraint. ... For other uses, see Liberty (disambiguation). ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... A mixed economy is an economic system that incorporates aspects of more than one economic system. ... An open society is a concept originally developed by philosopher Henri Bergson. ... Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the state is created by the will or consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. ... For the direction right, see left and right or starboard. ... For other persons named John Locke, see John Locke (disambiguation). ... John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873), British philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... Friedrich von Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek (May 8, 1899 in Vienna – March 23, 1992 in Freiburg) was an economist and social scientist of the Austrian School, noted for his defense of liberal democracy and free-market capitalism against a rising tide of socialist and collectivist thought in the mid... Milton Friedman (July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American Nobel Laureate economist and public intellectual. ... John Rawls (February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American philosopher, a professor of political philosophy at Harvard University and author of A Theory of Justice (1971), Political Liberalism, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, and The Law of Peoples. ... This article discusses liberalism as a major political current in specific regions and countries. ... In the entry Liberalism one can find a comprehensive discussion on liberalism. ... This article discusses the history and development of various notions of liberalism in the United States. ... Liberal International is a political international for international liberal parties. ... The International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) is an international liberal youth organization. ... The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (founded in 1993) is a liberal party, mainly active in the European Union, composed of 49 national liberal and centrist parties from across Europe. ... ALDE logo The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (French: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour lEurope) is a Group in the European Parliament. ... European Liberal Youth (LYMEC - Liberal and Radical Youth Movement of the European Community) is an international organisation of Liberal youth movements - mostly the youth wings of members of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party. ... The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats is a regional organization of liberal and democratic political parties in Asia. ... The Africa Liberal Network is composed of 16 parties in Africa, from 14 different countries, and is an associated organisation of Liberal International, the political family to which Liberal Democratic parties belong. ... The Liberal Network for Latin America (Red Liberal de América Latina, RELIAL) is an international network founded in 2003 with the official launch taking place in Costa Rica November 2004. ... Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. ... For the direction right, see left and right or starboard. ... As commonly used, individual refers to a person or to any specific object in a collection. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... In modern English and European systems of jurisprudence and law, a right is the legal or moral entitlement to do or refrain from doing something or to obtain or refrain from obtaining an action, thing or recognition in civil society. ... Group rights are rights that all members of a group have by virtue of being in that group. ... A privilege is an honour, or permissive activity granted by another person or even a government. ...

Individual rights are sometimes held to be distinct from human rights, because human rights often references a basket of civil and individual rights. The former class of rights is often considered to include human goods and benefits (positive rights) rather than rights proper (negative rights.) Individual rights are an individual's moral claim to freedom of action. Such rights may be respected or recognized by others for reasons of reciprocity, contract, pragmatism, or as a moral imperative. Also some theorists believe an individual can forfeit their rights if that individual does not exercise reciprocal respect and restraint. Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... A Positive right is a right, either moral or decreed by law, to be provided with something so that it is incumbent upon another to act, as opposed to a negative right which is a right to not be subject to the action of another. ... A Negative right is a right, either moral or decreed by law, to not be subject to an action of another (usually abuse or coercion) so that restraint is incumbent upon another, as opposed to a positive right which is a right to be provided with something by the positive...

Definition

"Individual rights" are the rights of individuals by virtue of their humanness, i.e. their nature as rational beings. Individual rights provide principles to delimit the interaction of individuals in society with respect to personal interactions and the distribution of goods and services. Individual rights are sometimes held to be distinct from human rights, because the latter class is often considered to include human goods and benefits (positive rights) rather than rights proper (negative rights.) Individual rights are an individual's moral claim to freedom of action. Such rights may be respected or recognized by others for reasons of reciprocity, contract, pragmatism, or as a moral imperitive.

Some individual rights may be forfeited if an individual does not exercise reciprocal respect and restraint. Individual rights are distinct from civil rights; civil rights are rights granted by government and individual rights are assumed prior to government. Individual rights are often codified into law so that they may be protected by impartial third parties such as the government. Governments that respect individual rights often provide for systemic controls that protect individual rights such as a system of "due process" in criminal justice. Police states are generally considered to be oppressive because they do not respect individual rights. With respect to individual rights the role of the government is as a third party protecting, identifying and enforcing the rights of the individual while attempting to assure just remedies for transgressions.

Relationship with social control

In Western discourse, individual rights are commonly assumed to be inversely related to social control. By contrast, much of the recent political discourse on individual rights in the People's Republic of China, particularly with respect to due process rights and rule of law, has focused on how protection of individual rights actually makes social control by the government more effective. For example, it has been argued that the people are less likely to violate the law if they believe that the legal system is likely to punish them if they actually violated the law and not punish them if they did not violate the law. By contrast, if the legal system is arbitrary then an individual has no incentive to actually follow the law. For this articles equivalent regarding the East, see Eastern culture. ... In logic, if S is a statement of the form P implies Q then the inverse of S is a statement of the form (not P) implies (not Q). ... Social control refers to social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behavior, in terms of greater sanctions and rewards. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The rule of law, in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law. ...

People who argue that individual rights are more important than social control are called "individual rights advocates". Advocates tend to argue for increased civil rights. This is traditionally associated with liberalism. Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ...

Role of government

Rights are often coded into law so that they may be protected by impartial third parties such as the government. Governments that respect individual rights often provide for systemic controls that protect individual rights such as a system of "due process" in criminal justice. These systems give rise to such civil rights as are necessary for the government to administer justice. With respect to individual rights the role of the government is as a third party protecting, identifying and enforcing the rights of the individual while attempting to assure just remedies for transgressions. Police states are generally considered to be oppressive because they do not respect individual rights. In United States law, adopted from English Law, due process (more fully due process of law) is the principle that the government must respect all of a persons legal rights instead of just some or most of those legal rights when the government deprives a person of life, liberty... United States criminal justice system flowchart. ... A police state is a political condition where the government maintains strict control over society, particularly through suspension of civil rights and often with the use of a force of secret police. ... For other uses, see Oppression (disambiguation). ... This article is about the moral/legal concept. ...

Rights are significant only where corresponding duties and responsibilities exist and people have the ability to enforce them - because society and individual survival depend on people relying on their ability to enforce rights people must be able to enforce those obligations where there is an absence or a betrayal of trust. Obligations are enforced by individuals and societal expectations and norms, but ultimately may require the ability or the actual enforcement by a government. The absence of a firm ability to enforce rights increases the risks associated with entering agreements and relying on rights, which limits individuals and societies ability to operate co-operatively.

The definition and upholding of individual rights is the core responsibility of any modern government.

In the United States, the Constitution outlines individual rights within the Bill of Rights. In Canada, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms serves the same function. One of the key differences between the two documents is that some rights in the Canadian Charter can be overridden by governments if they deliberately do so and "the resulting balance of individual rights and social rights remains appropriate to a free and democratic society" after the change. In practice, no Canadian government has ever chosen to face the political consequences of actually overriding the Charter. In contrast, in the United States, no such override exists (not even in theory, as is the case in Canada), and judicial activism has been the norm in the interpretation of the Bill of Rights; even a constitutional amendment could not remove these rights entirely, as they are considered inalienable under the natural rights principles the Constitution is founded upon. The United States Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. ... The Charter, signed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1981. ... Judicial activism is a term used in the United States that is open to some controversy concerning its true meaning. ... Amend redirects here. ... The term inalienable rights (or unalienable rights) refers to a set of human rights that are in some sense fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered. ... For other uses, see Universalism (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Group rights
• Human Rights

Group rights are rights that all members of a group have by virtue of being in that group. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...

References