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How useful is the concept of “rights” in political thinking?
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How useful is the concept of "rights" in political thinking? In the Ancient Greece, the relationship between individuals and the state was embodied in the notion of citizenship, which was reflected in the rights to participate in the political life of the community. The modern concept of citizenship is by contrast founded upon the principle of universal rights. This roots lies in the seventeenth century ideas about natural rights, elaborated in the twentieth century into the doctrine of human rights. Citizens are bearers of rights able to make claims against their states. Polititians litter most of their debates with reference to rights, rights to work, education, abortion, life, free speech, and own property etc. Harry Weinberger in a letter to the New York Post after America's Declaration of war in 1917 asserted that "the greatest right in the world is the right to be wrong". In its original meaning the term...
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