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Projects for Internet Access as an Inalienable Right
- kiba 16y agoWhile I am sympathetic to the anti-censorship goal, I am not so sure about making "internet access" an inalienable right. I guess I am just not a big fan of positive right.
- knowtheory 16y agoDo you believe that we have a right to a public education? Because i think that internet access plugs into that pretty well. Many of the people who seem to be down on positive rights don't really discuss the fact that positive and negative rights are matters of degree and flow into each other pretty fluidly. Okay, so right to a fair trial is a negative right... but right to council is a positive right? How are you going to get a fair trial w/o competent representation?
- kiba 16y agoDo you believe that we have a right to a public education? No. Okay, so right to a fair trial is a negative right... but right to council is a positive right? How are you going to get a fair trial w/o competent representation? I'll concede that point.
- dantheman 16y agoI'm going to contest the 2nd point. The government is trying to take your freedom, hence it provides certain protections. Just as you are guaranteed food while in jail, council must be provided. They are not positive rights, in fact they a stipulations required to enable the negative right. If they cannot be met, then you are free to go. In short, you have no claim on anyone else; however, if others want to imprison you then they must act in a certain way - providing council, etc.
- michael_dorfman 16y agoIs food an inalienable right? Housing? Health care?
- noarchy 16y agoThat depends on where you live. For a US-based audience, the answer to all of these will probably be, "No."
- electromagnetic 16y agoFor everywhere else the answer to all but the latter is no. Why should there be a right to food. I understand if there were legal restrictions on all forms of hunting, fishing and home-farming, but there isn't. I can build my own house. Most countries have provisions that allow you to do all your own electrical, plumbing and everything on your own property with only minimal restriction. However, there is no restriction on fulfilling the basic need of shelter. Here in Canada you can set up a shack anywhere in like 80% of the land so long as you move if loggers (or presumably miners, etc.) buy the land off the government. I think most countries are a yes for healthcare mostly because they won't let you practice medicine without a license. However, no one can stop me doing my own stitches or providing my own first-aid, it's generally only second-aid (hospital care) that is restricted solely to trained staff.
- gyardley 16y agoThis article's title is incredibly inaccurate - it should be something like 'six projects for preventing internet access from being shut off by a governmental body'. As the title currently reads, it's just setting us up for the same old tiresome political debate.
- pragmatic 16y agoHow can there be a right to something that someone else has to provide? With speech you can talk, no one has to listen. But with food, housing, internet access, _someone_ has to provide it.
- knowtheory 16y agoLikewise with education and defense, no?
- electromagnetic 16y ago> But with food, housing ... _someone_ has to provide it. No they don't. You can provide it for yourself, you might not get the latter to meet local standards easily, but then here in Canada you can build a shack out in the country so long as you vacate if loggers roll in. You might end up sharing it with a bear, but that's why you buy a gun and then you're providing your own defence too.
- thematt 16y agoJust because someone has to provide it doesn't mean it has to be provided for free. It could simply mean that it can't be denied.