Rights vs. Privileges vs. Preferences

Rights

A right is an inherent entitlment to perform a certain action unobstructed that doesn't result in any detriment to person or property.

If you have a right to something, like breathing for example, it means that you are entitled to the unobstructed ability to breathe, as long as it doesn't cause detriment to any person or property.

Rights can not be given or taken away; only violated. They are inherent and are legitimate only when no positive obligations have been made for people against their nonconsent as a result. Receiving a benefit and or service is never an actual right, but is a privilege instead.

Each individual is the direct link to their own body, logically, that makes each individual have the highest claim to their body, and to the effects of their actions. To assert that you have a right to the effects of somebody else's actions is to assert that you own that individual, and no human being has the right to ever enslave another individual.

Privilege

A privilege is a non inherent right or immunity that is granted as a benefit or advantage. Privileges are granted rights to receiving certain service, or immunities to certain consequences; and they can be taken away.

Preferring to enter a piece of private property, like somebody's home, doesn't mean that you have the right to. If you have a granted right to something, like entering a piece of private property with immunity to consequence for trespassing, then that is a privilege. It's a privilege because the property owner grants that advantage and can take it away.

A boss and employee relationship is an interesting dynamic. A boss can give you privileges in the form of employment, promotion, vacation, or bonuses, etc; but being a boss is also a privilege in of itself.

To become somebody's boss requires the self owning individual to agree to giving you the authority of setting privileges for them. That means that the authority possessed by a boss is acquired by way of mutual consent. You may prefer to get paid a certain amount, but it's not your right to get paid that much, unless your boss gives you that privilege. You may prefer to fill a certain position of employment at work, but you don't have a right to do that job until you've been given the privilege by your boss. It's also important to remember that the rights of an individual playing the role of an employee, always trump the authority had by the boss, and that the employee has the inherent right to withdraw consent, quit, and leave at anytime.

Preference

When you have a preference for something, like preferring to drink coffee every morning, it means that you'd ideally want to be able to drink coffee every morning. It doesn't mean that you are entitled to people growing and or distributing coffee. Also, nobody can take away your preference to drink coffee every morning.

To claim something that creates an obligation to another individual or group of people as a right, like the growing and distribution of coffee beans, or like healthcare, is to claim that certain people have an obligation to pay for, and or provide those services to you for free. It is also to conflate inherent negative rights with positive rights, or more accurately, with privileges.

Comparison

Rights

• an inherent entitlement to moral action.
• can not be granted or taken away; only respected or violated
• does not include immunities to consequence, or entitlments to services.
• controlled by nature.

Privilege:

• a granted entitlment to a specific action or benefit.
• can be granted, taken away, respected, or violated.
• can include immunities to consequence, and entitlements to services.
• controlled by an authority.

Preference:

• a want or desire for one thing over another; an ideal. Not an entitlement.
• are not taken or given, only thought about.
• can include any want or desire for one thing over another.
• controlled by the individual.