Rights Come from Reason—not "God" or Government

Conservatives claim rights come from “God.” So-called “progressives” claim rights come from government or consensus. In fact, however, rights come from reason—i.e., from perceptual observations and conceptual integrations of facts about human nature and the requirements of our life in a social context.

The table above (click it for a PDF) provides a concise indication of the relevant facts, their relationships to each other, and how our integrations of these facts and relationships give rise to the rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.

Don’t let religionists or subjectivists get away with nonsensical claims about rights. People of reason—not people of faith or people of consensus—have the facts on their side. People of reason have the moral high ground.

Be a person of reason. Stand your ground. And let’s achieve a future of freedom and flourishing.

(For a deeper dive on the secular nature of rights, read Ayn Rand’s Theory of Rights.)