Respect strangers’ rights

Whereas egoism guided our explorations in Part A and contractualism served to structure Part B, a third theory will guide us in Part C. Moral rights theorists focus on the protections deserved by all beings who have autonomy and, therefore, are entitled to have their choices protected – or who have interests and, therefore, are entitled to have their welfares protected. Like contractualists, moral rights theorists emphasize the fact that individuals have their own distinct conceptions of the good life, that people make and ought to keep promises, and that moral decisions should be made on the basis of reasons that are acceptable to free and equal persons. Unlike contractualists, moral rights theorists do not limit their concerns to those individuals capable of making contracts. Rights theorists who highlight interests recognize that some individuals are not capable of understanding reciprocal agreements, and yet those individuals have the right to be protected. The point of this chapter is to introduce the broad outlines of moral rights.

We hear people claiming their rights every day, whether it’s a right to privacy or free expression or private property. Imagine a new graduate student in good standing, Jermaine. Jermaine, we say, has a right – a moral right – to enter graduate school. His right consists of at least two components. First, he has the privilege to go to school because he is free of any duties not to do so. Now, we can imagine situations in which he would not have this privilege, for example, if he had failed to submit proof of his undergraduate degree or if he had not paid his tuition. But Jermaine, as we say, is in good standing, and all such conditions have been removed. He is at liberty to go to class. Second, he has a valid claim against those who would deprive him of this liberty because he has submitted all of the required forms and completed all of the steps necessary to be admitted. Should anyone try to prevent him from walking into his classes, Jermaine has good grounds to object to their actions and he is entitled to seek the assistance of authorities as he goes about the lawful pursuit of his interests.