Claiming that rights are created by government and its “laws” is like claiming gravity is created by physics textbooks. That doesn't stop statists from making this claim. I've encountered two of them (example 1, example 2) making similar claims within the past few hours.
They really want government to be a god!
Then they'll respond that gravity exists whether textbooks exist or not. I think this is an attempt at the "rights are a human/mental construct" argument. Which, as you can see, doesn't really mean anything, since anything in the Universe (including gravity) can be dismissed as a mental construct that consciousness has created, if you really want to go that route. It changes nothing about how things work.
If they can believe government, or its legislation and documents, are the source of rights, then anything government does can be justified. And this seems to be their biggest desire: to justify something that is a violation of human rights but which aligns with their preferences. Both the Right and the Left play this game.
It can be anti-gun rules, "immigration", cospucking, censorship, prohibition, or any other Big Government policy. If rights come from government, government can change those rights on a whim, to empower itself to do whatever it wants to do. And the Constitution is obviously no barrier.
"Rights come from government" means the mafia makes the rules it decides apply to you, so who do you think those rules will favor? Same with government because government is a mafia.
If rights come from government, there are no rights. In which case, I'll still behave toward you as though there are, and if you try to govern me (which you have no right to do), I will destroy you, and your complaints will fade into the void.
Hamsters is nice... I mean tips are...
Godverment is the word I have been using for decades.
ReplyDeleteVery fitting.
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