April 9, 2010 at 10:33 am, by Carl

Once again Seth Godin has nailed a core idea inherent to understanding rights.  Over the past 40 years or more, people have gained an incorrect understanding of rights relative to our historic viewpoints based on the writings of men like John Locke.  In the 1600s, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke inferred new philosophical concepts from the Scientific Revolution, most importantly from Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes.  Most famously, Locke proposed that we, as humans, having internal value,  and  “hath by nature a power …. to preserve his property – that is, his life, liberty, and estate – against the injuries and attempts of other men.” (Second Treatise of Government, Chapter 7, Section 87).


From this, as you should know, Thomas Jefferson borrowed Locke’s concept, took the focus of “estate” or “property” into “pursuit of happiness.”  Jefferson, as with many Americans at that time, would have naturally considered the concept of a “right to property” as equal to the “pursuit of happiness.”


It is these rights and the idea of these rights that have led the USA on our long journey of trying to become the most free and egalitarian society in the world (which we have achieved, actually done so long ago).  People living here, of every race, color and creed, are more free, richer and possessing more opportunity than anyone else in the world (hence the UN continuing to report that more people immigrate to the US than every other country combined).


But, over the last 40-60 years, we have lost the connection between rights and responsibilities.  Not only do we now claim things as a human right (such as the laughable concept bantered about by Congress that healthcare is a fundamental right) that no thinking human can actually claim.  Or, no human can accurately connect back to our philosophical foundations from Locke and Hobbes or the Enlightenment figures of the 18th century.


But worse, as Seth points out when we start to only claim rights (particularly rights that do not exist or exist only on shaking philosophical ground), we lose all connection to the human interaction that community demands from us.  While I may indeed have some right in some area of my existence, my right must operate in concert with the other humans around me.


The more we try to argue for rights that either don’t exist, or can only be extended in a way that harms others in the community, the more fragments and divisive society becomes.  The more you do that, the worse you look personally.  Trust me, everyone knows the person at their work who bases most of their decisions or their work relationship interactions on a selfish, “me first” mentality.  No one likes that person.


Want to get ahead in the world?  Want to Live Well?  Don’t let your passion for your rights interfere with your interaction with community.