[lit-ideas] Re: Paying taxes for months on end
- From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 25 May 2005 19:21:02 -0400
Robert Paul wrote:
" ... if there is a right to life, then there must also be a right to
the preservation and maintenance of life, for a right to something that
one has no right to preserve is no right at all: It is like having 'the
right' to Alpha Centauri, or the wind."
The analogy doesn't seem quite right. As Robert himself notes, the
right to life can't be one of possessing life since it presupposes life,
so the analogy can't be to a right to Alpha Centauri or the wind.
The reference to 'maintenance of life' strikes me as being an
interpretation that moves beyond mere preservation. Why couldn't the
right to life be nothing more than security from having one's life and
property taken by another? I am also wary of positive rights. If there
is the right to maintenance of life, how does one decide that a
government has satisfied this condition? I see two obvious problems.
First, one of extension. If the maintenance of life involves health and
welfare, does every or any sickness or death represent a failing of the
government? There seems to be no boundary to what could be understood
as maintaining life. Second, one of intrusion. Does the government
fail in its duty if it allows people to smoke? Does the duty of
government to maintain life supersede the wishes and responsibility of
individuals?
These, however, are practical issues. It seems to me that the more
fundamental question is whether people have a right to demand of
government positive goods. I don't see how such a right can be given
(if individuals do not have a right to maintenance of life, how can the
government grant such a right?) nor how such a right can be satisfied
(maintenance of life can't be articulated except against a background of
particular goods, which would conflict with the notion of an inalienable
right). This does not mean that government should not provide health
care or basic education, only that these services cannot be seen as
satisfying the rights of the citizenry.
Sincerely,
Phil Enns
Toronto, ON
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