The Veil of Liberty — Negative Rights

Why Only Negative Rights are Virtuous

Negative rights describe rights in a natural state without interference and encroachment by external forces.

While positive rights outline what somebody is eligible to supplied with, negative rights describe what a person is free to do.

Isaiah Berlin expressed the important distinction between positive and negative liberties describing how they are not merely two flavors of the same state but fundamentally antithetical.

Positive rights are not only fundamentally contrary to negative rights, there is also no limit to the amount of positive rights, as many positive states to individuals and society can be rationalized into being rights.

Negative rights manifest in an individual’s life as the freedom to choose one’s own path and are adhered to by abstaining from forcefully interfering with the conduct of others.

Negative rights are the compass to navigate an environment where many matters are described as rights.

Find a short article exploring negative rights here: https://libertarianthinker.medium.com/the-veil-of-liberty-negative-rights-539bb13e9c91

Think for yourself and question everything my fellow libertarians!