Thinking History Thursday

Life, Liberty and Property: What Do Those "Natural Rights" Mean?

One of the best known but least understood phrases in American History is Jefferson's "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness." Most people know it comes from the Declaration of Independence and many know that the phrase is also known as natural rights, but few really understand its significance.

The concept of natural rights was touched on by many Enlightenment thinkers and can even trace its roots to the Ancient Greeks; however, John Locke an Englishman is credited with formalizing and simplifying the idea in the phrase, "life, liberty and property." I know what you're thinking, "What happened to pursuit of happiness?" Simply put, Jefferson changed it.

Life and liberty seem obvious. People have a right to be secure in themselves and bodily safe. Laws must protect citizens from physical abuse by government and other citizens. This component exists because in most countries in the 18th Century the King or Emperor had extraordinary powers to jail, imprison, and execute and the accused had little recourse. Liberty goes a step farther by guaranteeing (with certain constraints) freedoms like speech, press, religion, etc.

So why did Jefferson change "property." One common explanation is that if all people are born with natural rights then how do you explain slavery? Jefferson may have tweaked it for that reason. A few historians have argued that Jefferson used the phrase as a sly insult to the British. In an interesting piece by Dr. Carol Hamilton (HNN article) the thesis is put forward that "pursuit of happiness" was another way Locke himself expressed the idea of natural rights. It expands on the idea of property to include those that may not desire property, those involved in non-propertied businesses, and others suffering from impairments that prevent them from such activity. Of course, this broad interpretation opens up a multitude of opportunities for abuse. What if animal sacrifice makes me happy? You get the point.

Regardless, the property component, although not in Jefferson's words, is a vital element to natural rights that we often forget. The average person three hundred years ago was legally prevented from owning property or a business in most countries. Only the nobility generally had such privileges. Locke saw the right to property ownership as the key to the development of a republic. This is why protection of property rights and equality of opportunity has always been important to America's development. Capitalism, which many Founders believed ensured economic freedom, was a natural compliment to the right to property and the other freedoms. Locke and the Founders also viewed property as an important piece to American Democracy.

Natural rights is almost like a mission statement. It lacks specificity, but is important in laying out a vision of what America should be. Of course this is not as simple as it seems. Such a general phrase is broadly interpreted and one of the purposes of our Constitution was to offer some explanation and structure to natural rights. While life and liberty are alive and strong, property is under attack today. It would do the country good to reexamine the critical role "property" plays in a republic.

Posted with Blogsy