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Many people do not understand the true meaning of the word "right". According to Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand "rights are moral principles sanctioning a man's freedom of action in a social context." This definition of rights basically means that one man's right cannot infringe upon another; a right is only a right if it does not infringe upon another person's rights.

The freedom to act is an absolute right. It is not freedom to act by permission, which may be taken away by another. As long as one's actions do not infringe upon another person and are not coercive, then those actions are guaranteed as a right.

The only four rights that are absolute, unalienable rights are the right to life (the freedom to live as one chooses), liberty (the freedom to act as one chooses), property (the freedom to own and control one's own property, including one's own body), and the pursuit of happiness (the freedom to live life for your own happiness, not the "good of the people," and to live as one sees fit). These rights should be upheld by every government of the world for all of its citizens.

A person may live however he or she wants, provided that the way that they live their life does not deprive another person of their rights.

Any action done by force is not a right. Any action done that infringes upon another is not a right. Rights, properly defined, never infringe upon another person's rights, and never require the use of force upon another.

A person may own property; no person has the right to deprive another person of his or her rightful property. Property may be traded for the mutual benefit of those trading, but no one has the right to coerce another into relinquishing his or her property. A person's property includes his body, and he has the right to do with his own body how he sees fit, as long as that does not infringe upon another's right.

The pursuit of happiness is often misinterpreted. A person has the right to seek things in life for his own happiness, without regard to making others happy. This does not mean that he may pursue happiness at the expense of another person, but only that he need not take into consideration making another person happier through his actions. A person does not have to act to benefit other people. If a person wants to only act with his own interest in mind, that is personally acceptable as long as his actions do not infringe upon another's rights.

The United States government was originally founded with the intention of protecting the rights of its citizens. This is the only noble pursuit of government. A government that does not protect its citizens' rights is not a noble government, and should be abolished. A government that uses coercion or force upon its own people without provocation should be abolished. A government that does not recognize a person's absolute rights should be abolished and replaced with a government that does.

All men, women and children are born with the absolute rights mentioned above. Most other things considered "rights" are not rights at all, but simply privileges. Privileges may be revoked by the granter of said privileges. Rights may not be revoked, and even when a right is denied, whether by another individual or a government, it is still a right.

A government has no authority to revoke the absolute rights of its citizens, no matter what the supposed cause. Absolute rights are just that: absolutes, unchanging through time and rightfully belonging to all human beings, regardless of race, gender, class or any other factor.

Learn more about this author, Cameron Chapman.
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