IS MARRIAGE A RIGHT? Matt Taylor

The answer depends on the way you view the nature of rights in general, and especially whether you belive that human rights exist a priori, or that we invent rights in order to create the best social condition.

The more libertarian view is that rights exist a priori, i.e. that all people have an essential right to live as they wish, which may only be abridged by the state when the rights of different people are in conflict. The libertarian premise, carried to its ultimate conclusion, mandates equal treatment of not only same-sex marriage, but also polygamy and consensual incestuous marriage, for none of these inherently infringe on the rights of others.

The more communitarian view holds that we invent rights, i.e. that society should set forth ideals according to which all individuals should live, and reward adherence to those ideals with honor, material benefits, and political power (i.e. "rights"). This is the more traditional model for society, still prevalent in most of the world, and predating the Enlightenment-era invention of "inalienable rights" by thousands of years.

In the communitarian framework, each proposed form of marriage must be examined individually, turning the debate to the
advantages and disadvantages of each for child-rearing, social cohesion, etc. I notice that this is exactly the pattern of discussion that has occupied much of the SSM debate ... perhaps we are taking for granted that the communitarian approach is correct? A discussion of the overall nature of human rights might benefit the more focused debate on SSM.
posted by Eve at 2:17 PM | link

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