Human Rights Quote (43): Raison d'Etre of Government

Ronald Reagan

Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing. Ronald Reagan

I don’t often agree with Ol’ Ronald, but when he’s right, he’s right. Human rights are the “raison d’être” of the state. The state must act in order to protect rights. And if human rights require that the state abstains, then the state should be actively engaged in enforcing this abstention.

If human rights depend on judicial and political institutions that in turn depend on the protection of the state, then human rights are more than just protective tools directed against the power of the state. They are part of the state.

“That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men”, says the Declaration of Independence of 1776.

More on the role of the state in protecting human rights.