Overview

• Rights are human concepts intended to prevent violence against each other. Whether they be Human Rights, Legal Rights, Natural Rights or Civil Rights, all rights are simply ideas and are helpful to the extent that agreeing upon them facilitates peaceful co-existence.

The two categories of rights relevant for 3L

1. Substantive rights
   • These refer to the freedoms individuals are entitled to. All substantive rights are property rights. Substantive rights themselves fall into two categories - negative rights (freedom from) and positive rights (freedom to):
     • ‘Negative rights’: freedoms that others must not interfere with. Negative rights can be exercised without forcefully compelling anyone to do anything. An example is the right not to be aggressed against; the right to self-ownership.
       • Freedom from aggression is our most basic substantive right.
     • ’Positive rights’: forcing others to do things for us. An example of a positive right is the right to free healthcare, which, though a potentially worthy cause, requires aggressing against others to pay for it. In this way, positive rights require denying others their freedom to live as they choose. Said another way, all positive rights violate the Legal Principle and should be entirely abolished.
   • AVOID CONFUSION: The legal wording of ‘negative’ vs ‘positive’ rights is confusing. Rather than a value judgment, the word ‘negative’ is used because these rights require others to refrain from interfering. ‘Negative’ rights prevent aggressing, so are essential for peace and freedom, while ‘positive’ rights require aggressing, so are incompatible with the 3L Principle.
2. Procedural Rights
   • These are the processes by which substantive rights are upheld.
   • Without the procedural right to due process, a free society cannot exist because all people are entitled to a fair trial if accused of aggressing. Without the right to a fair trial, the rule against aggressing could not be fairly enforced. This is why the 3LP considers obstruction of justice or violating the right to due process aggressing.

Foundation of 3L’s Legal Principle

• The 3L Principle is based on the negative substantive right not to be aggressed against, which itself requires procedural right to due process to be fairly upheld. These are the only two rights necessary to achieve a free society and world. No other rights are needed.
• All property rights stem from this right not to be aggressed against.
• The right not to be aggressed against (and the accompanying procedural right) is the only universally coherent substantive right there is, applying in all situations without contradiction. All rights and laws should be derived directly from these two fundamental rights and should never violate either under any circumstances.
  • We should honor and cherish these two rights and be vigilant that those enforcing the Legal Principle do not stray into enforcing inconsistent legal rules. Separating powers of making, enforcing, and interpreting legal rules is likely essential to prevent abuse of authority.

Inalienable Rights

• Some rights are ‘alienable’, meaning you can transfer or contract them away (like property rights). Some rights, like the right of self-ownership (the basis of the 3L Principle) are ‘inalienable’, meaning they cannot be transferred; you can’t permanently give up your capacity to choose - even if you tried, you’d still remain the chooser.
  • This is why Thomas Jefferson wrote about self-agency in this way: “We hold these truths to be self-evident”.

Simple summary

• These legal terms can be confusing, but the essence is simple: there is only one right that the 3L Movement holds sacred, which is the right to act according to your will (”live”) **to the extent that it doesn’t prevent others from doing similarly (”let live”).