1. Define the following: a right, a legal right, a moral right, a human right. How are they related?
2. What three (3) features define a moral?
3. How do we know that people have rights? What is the basis of the moral rights according to a utilitarian view? According to the Immanuel Kant?
C06.V.9.1 Business Ethics
Assignment 04,
Meaning and types of rights
Right is a moral or legal entitlement to do or have something of an individual, according to the jurisprudence and the law. Each and everyone should have a right and it serves as a rules of interaction between people, and as such, they place restrictions and obligations upon the groups or individual's action. For example, if one has a right to live a life, it means that others do not have a freedom to kill him. In a concept of rights, there are different types of rights such as legal right, moral right and human right. Rights which exist under the rules of a legal system or authoritative bodies by the law of the government is called legal right. It is created by the legislation. It is also called gifted or honored to a person by the system of law. Legal right is controlled by the rules and system of law of the government. While comparing it to the moral or human rights its totally different. Moral rights are not created, its discovered and there is no injustice in how they are distributed. Basically, moral rights or human rights are based on norms, values and principles which are equal for all human beings of every nationality. Every human beings have a equal right, either they are from different race, religion or gender.
Rights are power for freedom of choices, wants and desires of each and every human beings. Rights protects from being tortured either he/she is from different religion, sex or race. Essentially, all rights either it is legal, moral or human are made for the welfare of the human beings. The main purpose of rights is to empower the people to make their choices or interests freely without any obstacles. It is also necessary to protect them. Usually rights are held by the majority of the population. We know very well that there is different types of rights like legal, moral or human rights, which form the structure of government, the content of laws and shape of morality for the freedom for human being. Human rights are based on morality and the legal actions. But somewhere it affects indirectly like, everyone have equal rights, if one claims another from his/her power of human right, in this situation another person can also claim him/her to prove his/her blame by using his/her power of right. Some where it creates very difficult situation in the legal and moral terms because rights is not divided in person. In some of the countries like India, most of the legal actions are made by the morality of the society. It may be different from one society to another society but as much as I know, most of the local people in India believes in moral rights than legal rights.
Moral rights are based on moral ethics which increases the inner power ability to fight against some unnecessary prohibition. The rule that command right and wrong which can be for the society or an individual's beliefs is called morality. Always speak truth, be dependable and respect others are some of the common examples of morals in a society. There are mainly three features to define a moral right. At first, duty which is deeply connected or have a mutual relationship with moral rights. Moral rights should be implemented by duties. Duties and moral rights are like a two sides of a coin. For example, if a person has a moral right or freedom to choose a religion and to worship it, the government or some other agents of the society has a duty to provide him a suitable environment or standard of living. Nobody has a right to interfere in one's personal life. Similarly, the second feature is a freedom and equality of an individual to accomplish their wants and desires. Everyone has a equal right to fulfill their interest without any obstacle by others. If a person has a right to worship, he has a freedom to worship in his chosen religion. No one can force him to stop worship and he should not need anyone's authority to worship. This type of pursuit is protected by moral right. At last, the third feature to define a moral right is to explain one's activity to help o protect others for an inspiration. It is a base of the moral right. In a moral right something has to be done for a better outcome. It is equally necessary to prove which can be an inspiration to others and where no one can interfere.
Specially people's right are asked when it comes to legal right. When a person gets a necessary things which are guaranteed from legal system because he/she lives or surrounded by a legal system, then we know that people have rights. People have right to do everything and anything within a legal system by not disturbing others. Continuously, we know people's right when they are not getting or absent from their right of their lack of knowledge. At this time we feel that this is what they need or they should have. But when it comes to the of moral right, it is said that principles of utilitarian provides a base for it, according to utilitarian view. It also claim that increasing the value or benefit of anything is the effect of moral right. It does not provides a utilitarian benefit to anyone if a person has a moral right to do something. There are enough basis of utilitarianism for moral rights. On the other hand, when we read the basis of moral rights according to Immanuel Kant it is more satisfactory. The moral principle of Kant's theory is based on categorical imperative, which means that every one should have equal right and freedom. It also explain that one must do only what one can will that all others should do under similar situation. Moral right defines a equal right and having mutual relationship of duty to everyone. There are different means to express the moral principle of Kant and each and every way define with the basic moral right and correlative duty.
John Locke, a British political philosopher has invented a "natural right" to liberty and property. Natural right means free in nature or a power to speak, act and thinks as one wants. A government can not deny these type of rights. No one can harm others by force, by torture and mentally. Every one has their own liberty to do whatever they wants. According to Locke, there should be equality of freedom to every one who survives in a nature independently. But in the state of nature, where all individual are king of their own bodies, labor and products of their labor, a perilous moment can occur. By the definition of rights are equal for everyone, sometimes private property can became very unsafe and insecure. "Natural right" to property is more similar to the "natural right" to liberty. A person has a right to freedom from the government to protect his property. In Locke's state of nature, government has not right to interfere in the natural right to liberty and property of a citizen except insofar if the liberty and property is needed to protect from being captured or take over by others. It also states that when a person mix his body and labor in some object that is unclaimed and joined to it something, the object naturally or automatically turns in his property. That’s why Lockean rights to private property have had a significant influence on U.S. laws regarding to property and ownership.
References
Manuel G. Velasquez (2012). Business Ethics. Concept and Cases (7th Ed). Boston: Pearson.
A. John Simmons (1994). The Lockean Theory of Rights (Studies in Moral, Political, & Legal Philosophy). New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
A. Reis Monteiro (2014). Ethics of Human Rights. New York: Springer.
