Natural Rights Aspects Flashcards
Individual Rights
Specific rights that belong to each person, such as those listed in the Bill of Rights
Popular sovereignty
The natural rights concept that ultimate political authority rests with the people.
Right of Revolution
The right of the sovereign people of any democratic state or regime to depose a government after it has attacked citizens’ basic rights for a significant period of time.
Limited Gov’t
In natural rights philosophy, a system restricted to protecting natural rights that does not interfere with other aspects of life. More generally, it is a constitutional government governed by the rule of law (the principle that both those who govern and those who are governed must obey the law and are subject to the same laws).
Social Contract Theory
Presumption of an imaginary or actual agreement among people to set up a government and obey its laws
Political Legitimacy
Acceptance by the governed that the claim to authority by those who govern is justified. In democratic societies, legitimacy is achieved only when those who govern gain power through the free consent of the governed in free and fair elections.
Human Equality
In a state of nature, all people are free from one another’s control and are equal to one another. All are born with equal political rights. Neither God nor nature makes some people rulers and other people subjects.
