The path to Tranquility (summer)
71. From natural rights to shared freedom
From birth to death, a person occupies some material and space. These
materials and spaces can be plundered by others, but it cannot be denied
that they were once occupied by that person. This kind of occupation does not
require anyone's permission. We have a selfish nature and the ability to
maximize our own interests. This natural ability is power. When powers
conflict, our freedoms are restricted. Therefore, rights are the
greatest power we can exercise, representing the greatest benefits we can
obtain, as well as the degree of freedom.
The right to survive is our first right, which gives us the opportunity to think about why rights exist. How we view our rights reflects our views on power and freedom. When we realize the role and limitations of rights, we can choose to let go of our rights and allow ourselves and others to enjoy more freedom. This means that our consciousness grows significantly as we understand how to be more beneficial to our life.
There is no doubt that rights are given by nature. However, nature includes humans and other life. Therefore, as long as there are other lives, a person's rights can also be regarded as granted by other lives. If a wild beast attacks this person, it will deprive him of his right to survive. The reason why we say natural rights is because nature has given us companions, and our companions give us rights. If there is only one person in the world, this person will lack the right to interact with others, which is equivalent to being imprisoned alone. Therefore, rights are the result of interactions between people. In other words, rights are not only given by others, but also earned by ourselves, and all these others and ourselves are part of nature. This is what the concept of natural rights can express.
Many times, rights refer to our ability to fight for natural resources. Everything we can fight for is natural, and even the ability to "fight" itself is a natural resource that can be fought for. This means that nature has given us the ability to fight for all naturally existing resources. For humans, these abilities cannot be completely taken away. We can think about it in reverse: If contraception can be prohibited, then contraception is not a natural ability. If abortion reduces the birth rate to zero, then fertilized eggs have no natural ability to survive. The reason why these abilities of ours are natural is because all human interference can only be punished afterwards. This is also the meaning of natural rights.
Rights sometimes represent our ability to control or influence the behavior of others, and are synonymous with power. At the moment of birth, we declare our power to survive with a crying, in order to influence others not to harm us, so that we can continue to occupy resources. This shows that we have the right to survive. The power to kill is another kind of power, with the goal of taking away the lives of others, so that we can get more resources and benefits. Therefore, it can also be said that we have the right to kill.
It can be seen that we do not necessarily need the concept of rights. Nature gives us the power to kill, and society does not stipulate that we must not kill. This means that society recognizes our natural power. This recognition can reduce power conflicts in society because we don't have to take actual actions to prove our power. Society still discourages killing, so there are definitely consequences for killing people. But as long as a person does not kill people, it means that he has not used his talent for killing, which can reduce the risk of being killed. Therefore, even if society does not stipulate that killing is absolutely forbidden, people's power to kill will naturally reach a balance without the need to declare their power to kill through rights claims. People develop the concept of rights in order to reduce the conflict between powers and hope that others will exercise their powers only after they have been authorized. However, human is a member of nature. Nature continues to evolve and become stable, so the powers of humans must also tend to be balanced. When we no longer worry about conflicts between powers, we can let go of the pursuit of rights.
Letting go of the pursuit of rights means that we let go of power. However, the power from nature can only be let go, and cannot be abandoned. For example, a person's power to use land is natural. He can only sell the benefits of exercising this power, and cannot sell this power, because he still occupies some land. Similarly, demanding others to give up power is invalid. For example, a person cannot monopolize another person by marriage. He can at most get some benefits, and these benefits are exchanged with his interests. A person asks another person to give up the right to marry others, which is also difficult to achieve. This shows that rights claims are not necessarily effective. No matter how we declare our power, or demand others to give up power, those powers are still effective. That is, we don’t have to worry about losing power by letting go of our pursuit of rights.
We may think that as long as we declare that we have a certain real power, and fight for the support of others, we can obtain rights. However, no matter how many people support, those powers that cannot be transformed into benefits will still not become real rights. For example, declare that we have the power to enslave others. Perhaps we can get the support of many people, but if we can't find people who can be enslaved, then the power to enslave others cannot be transformed into benefits and become a right. On the other hand, if we have the power to obtain certain benefits and get the support of others, we can reduce the cost of exercising this power. But even without the support of others, we still have the opportunity to exercise this power. Therefore, as long as we can truly exercise power, it means that we have obtained rights. From this perspective, we also don't have to worry about losing rights.
We can regard rights as recognition of the powers of others. When we recognize that others have a certain power, and promise not to interfere with the exercise of this power, it is to support the power of others with our own power, that is, giving rights to others. In doing so, we did not give others any power, but just made it convenient for them to exercise their own power. This is actually a kind of respect we show to others. Therefore, recognizing the powers of others, will not only make us lose nothing, but will also make it easier for us to establish friendly relationships with others, thereby gaining more freedom and happiness.
The development of the concept of rights is a process, which involves our identification with ourselves and others, and is the result of rational development. The first person to develop self-consciousness may already have a preliminary concept of rights. Rationality is naturally produced and is a gift to human beings. Humans first recognize themselves, and then recognize others, this is reality. Therefore, giving others rights means that we recognize others. However, thinking that denying others will make others lose rights is a wrong idea. This is because, even if we find many people to deny someone together, that person just loses a lot of recognition, and will not completely lose rights, he can recognize himself. We advocate natural rights, which is to say that we have the power to decide how to do it. This is to recognize our own powers and give ourselves rights. Of course, we are also seeking the recognition of others. If the number of people who recognize us is large enough, we will more easily exercise powers to obtain benefits. The concept of rights just reminds us that we can gain greater freedom through mutual recognition.
Recognizing the natural rationality of others is the basis of rights. We recognize that everyone is born equal, which is to recognize rational equality. This means that we can understand the randomness and inevitability of life evolution, and sympathize with all life. Recognizing that people have natural rights and do not rely on anyone's power reflects an independent personality. There will be rights if there is rationality, and there will be respect for rights if there is respect for rationality. By becoming aware of our own rights, we can become aware of the rights of others, which is a process of self-awakening and consciousness growth. It is an inferiority complex to think that our rights are given by others. It is arrogant to think that other people’s rights are given by us. Recognizing that everyone is born with rights, and can be exchanged, is a thought that truly reflects the world.
Recognizing natural rights, we will defend our own and others' right to speak, and learn to express ourselves and listen to others. This also means taking on our natural responsibilities. People who evade responsibility will rely on the powers of others, which is a key condition for the emergence of authoritarian regimes. When a group of people who depend on power come together, hoping that someone will take responsibility for them, they will naturally create a dictator. As long as everyone can independently exercise their own power and take on their own responsibilities, the power of society will check and balance each other. The problems that arise in interpersonal relationships mostly come from the bad behavior of shirking responsibility or soliciting responsibility. With more rights comes greater responsibility, which means that we have more two-way dependence on others, and our freedom is more susceptible to interference. Reduce dependence on others, our freedom will increase. Moreover, freedom and consciousness are mutually promoting. When we realize our abilities and fully use the environment to exercise our powers, we no longer need others to give rights. In this way, we can promote the development of freedom.
Only the relationship of sharing wealth does not need rights and are the least dependent on each other, so it is the most free. If there are enough material resources, no one will care about whether the resources being occupied are private or public. Looking deeper, private property is just an illusion, sharing is reality, because no one can monopolize anything. On the other hand, modern people have a large population, but their lives are much better than primitive people, showing that the material resources of the earth are abundant. Although the increase in population increases the demand for materials, materials are all used in circulation, and when the efficiency of circulation is improved, it appears to be abundant. Human life is getting better and better, and one day there will be much more material than needed. We can also pay more attention to spiritual creation, making people's lives more easily satisfied. Therefore, the relationship of sharing wealth is not impossible to achieve.
We have largely achieved the sharing of spiritual wealth. As for the sharing of material wealth, it can first be realized in intimate relationships. For example, in a marriage relationship based on love, the two not only share their bodies and minds, but also share other wealth. Because the relationship of sharing wealth does not require rights, the two will not conflict over fighting for rights, and can focus more on the development of affection. In fact, sharing is freedom. When the two truly feel that they own everything about each other, they will feel free in the relationship. Therefore, successfully establishing a relationship of sharing spiritual and material wealth marks that we have let go of rights and obtained freedom.
The concept of rights exists because of private property, which is the essence of "natural rights". In the final analysis, the so-called rights are nothing more than our attitude towards reality. We should realize that as long as "the body" is recognized as a personal property, then the denial of any other personal rights will appear extremely unreasonable. Therefore, we really need not fear losing our rights. What we can do at this stage is let go of rights and give ourselves and others freedom to build truly strong relationships. In this way, we do not need to fight for and defend rights throughout our lives, and thus gain love, freedom and happiness, the highest enjoyments in life.
The concept of rights exists because of private property, which is the essence of "natural rights". In the final analysis, the so-called rights are nothing more than our attitude towards reality. We should realize that as long as "the body" is recognized as a personal property, then the denial of any other personal rights seems extremely unreasonable. Therefore, we really need not fear losing our rights. What we can do at this stage is let go of power and give others freedom to build truly strong relationships. In this way, we do not need to fight for and defend rights throughout our lives, and it is easier to obtain love, freedom and happiness, the highest enjoyments in life.
72. Harmonious affection stem from loving each other
