Censorship means the suppression of speech by, and only by, the government. Its chief concern is political speech.
Individual Rights
Rights are non-contradictory
Rights apply to all individuals equally, as no right -- properly defined -- contradicts any other right.
Freedom of Speech
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of...
Why are rights not permissions granted by government or society?
Individual rights are not permissions granted by the government.
Why are rights not self-evident?
Individual rights are not self-evident but are objective discoveries.
Why are rights universal/equal?
Rights belong to each individual equally by their nature as a rational being.
What is the right to pursue happiness?
Rights are not guarantees for successful action but are only guarantees to freedom of action.
What is the right to property?
Rights are not guarantees for successful action but are only guarantees to freedom of action.
What does it mean for rights to be inalienable?
Inalienable means the right may not be alienated from the person who possesses them.
What is the right to life?
The right to life is the fundamental right from which all other rights logically derive.
What is a right?
“A right,” as defined by Ayn Rand, “is a moral principle defining an individual’s freedom of action in a social context.”
What is individualism?
Individualism does not mean living a “rugged life” on a desert island or as a “lone wolf” in the wilderness, but like its antithesis, collectivism, specifies the nature of the relationship of the individual to the rest of society.
What is political freedom?
Freedom, not to act by permission of another individual or group of individuals, but the freedom to act by right.