A negative right is a right, either moral or decreed by law, to not be subject to an action of another human being (usually abuse or coercion). Negative rights are sometimes contrasted with positive rights, which are rights to be provided with something by the positive action of another. The former proscribe action, while the latter prescribe action. A right is the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled or a thing to which one has a just claim. ... Coercion is the practice of compelling a person to act by employing threat of harm (usually physical force, sometimes other forms of harm). ... A positive right is a right, either moral or decreed by law, to be provided with something through the action of another person or group of people (usually a state). ...

One example of a negative right is the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which makes it unlawful for the government to restrict a person's speech. A law requiring another person to provide him with a microphone would codify a positive right. The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme...

Socialists and leftists argue that there should be no distinction between negative and positive rights, while classical liberals and libertarians believe that positive rights by their nature contravene negative rights and are therefore unacceptable. The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... 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. ... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... This article deals with the libertarianism as defined in America and several other nations. ...

See also

• Negative liberty
• Positive right
• Positive liberty