Moral conception of rights
Topic: Political Theory: Freedom and Rights · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Rights"
Meaning
The moral conception of rights says rights come from how we ought to treat each other. It has two rules. First, treat others as you would like them to treat you. Second, never use a person merely as a means to your own ends, the way you would use a pen or a horse. Respect each person because they are human. Immanuel Kant gave the idea its formal shape as the categorical imperative, a moral rule that applies to everyone. It rests on his idea of human dignity (1785): humans are above all price.
Example
The UDHR's "inherent dignity" comes from this idea. So does the right to live with dignity under Art. 21 (Francis Coralie Mullin, 1981; Common Cause, 2018). Making someone work as a bonded labourer treats them only as a tool, so it breaks this rule.
Don't confuse with
- Utilitarianism: it may sacrifice a few people for the happiness of the many. The moral conception never allows a person to be used only as a means.