RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

There are human rights, patients , rights, employee rights, students' rights, women's rights, reproductive rights ”the list goes on, although, to be fair, some people believe that there are rights that every human being has, and the concept of special rights for any specific group is unethical in itself. That said, what exactly is a right and how do I get one?

The term ˜right has become so ubiquitous that it appears to be losing some of its power and meaning. It seems that a right is fundamental to our understanding of what individuals can expect in terms of ethical behaviour towards them in a particular society. Clearly, even from my own simple example, although I may consider it my right to breathe non-cigarette-smoke-polluted air when I'm dining or at any other time for that matter, is it really a right? Or should I just stay at home and eat there, or perhaps wear a mask when in the company of smokers?

One way of looking at it is that a right is the freedom to act or be treated in a particular way, where this right is protected and endorsed by a higher authority ”in the case of human rights, for example, a constitution or declaration of human rights and freedoms. All other rights claimed must be justified by these fundamental declarations. And to add to that, these higher authorities that grant rights then have the responsibility to uphold those rights.

Within businesses or industries, declarations of rights might be granted to cover specialized issues. For example, in the healthcare industry, patients' bills of rights are rampant. The healthcare industry itself, prompted in many cases by consumer groups, has developed these rights and therefore the healthcare industry and the groups who determine these rights constitute the higher authority to which the patient should appeal if that person is unable to exercise a particular right.

In business, your organization might have a declaration of your employees ' rights ”the right to a safe working environment, the right to work without harassment , for example. The organization itself grants these rights and as a result has the responsibility to uphold them. But these declarations don't mean that your organization has the responsibility to ensure a safe working environment in a competitor across the street. It does mean that these rights apply equally to all your employees.

The bottom line is that you do not have a right unless I or someone else grants it to you. You may claim rights until you're blue in the face, but until someone agrees with you, the right doesn't exist. You cannot claim a right ”it has to be given to you.

Ever since I was an undergraduate student, I've thought of a right as a justified claim. In other words, it isn't enough simply to declare that you have a specific right (although given the number of people who do so it might seem this easy). You must have substantial justification for that right and others who would then have a duty to uphold your right must agree. Generally, that justification comes in the form of one of those higher authorities that recognizes a duty to uphold your right. But what about those rights claimed as protected and endorsed by higher authorities that are perhaps more nebulous, such as religious belief, custom, God or even conscience? Who, then, can justify them and uphold these rights? Whereas those members of a particular society might be able to agree on certain rights assured in law, there are other rights that lead to considerable disagreement .

Eighteenth-century philosopher Immanuel Kant, whose categorical imperative we discussed in Chapter 3, had very specific ideas about the moral value of human beings and his perspective often informs today's discussions about rights. He said that people must always be treated as ends, rather than as a means to an end. If people are treated as a means to an end, then their personal dignity isn't being respected. This kind of argument is what provides support for the disagreements about supposed rights that are granted by those more ambiguous higher authorities.