Definition
Natural rights are rights held to belong to every person simply by virtue of being human. Unlike privileges granted by a ruler, natural rights are understood to exist independently of government and cannot legitimately be taken away.
The idea was developed by Enlightenment philosophers, most influentially John Locke, who held that all individuals have rights to life, liberty, and property that governments are formed to protect.
Why it matters
How it works
The doctrine of natural rights reverses the traditional logic of authority. Rather than the people existing to serve the ruler, the government exists to protect rights that individuals already hold. From this it follows that a government violating those rights forfeits its legitimacy, justifying resistance or revolution. This argument fueled the great political upheavals of the eighteenth century and continues to underpin constitutional democracy and international human rights law.