law. But this change was fiercely resisted in some areas. The eventual success of
the civil rights movement owes much to the moral power of natural rights, as

interpreted and enforced by federal courts. What rights might we now be abusing

/—

that future generations will struggle to set right?        /]^'!)

LEGISLATIVE RIGHTS
Rights claims now go far beyond life, liberty, property, equal protection of the law
and other constitutional rights. Many people now claim that rights include access to
such things as education, fair housing, health care and other important human needs.
In contemporary debates, there is a great deal of overlap (if not confusion) between
rights and needs. Some argue that important human needs should be fulfilled as a
matter of rights or entitlements.

One's moral assessment of this conflict depends on attitudes about capitalism and

whether incomes in our economic system are fairly distributed and morally
deserved.

Some believe the emphasis on rights has led to too much government regulation and
costly, inefficient reliance on lawyers, in the capitalistic economic system there is a

reliance on self interest, liberty and property rights free from government         <y ^

r  \f