214

I know some places are more progressive in this regard. But from the U.S., I'd like to see every person entitled to:

  • shelter
  • food
  • healthcare
  • education and higher education

(As an aside, not sure "right" is the best term here, I think of these more as commitments that society would make because we have abundance. One advantage of the word "right" is that a person is justified in expecting it - it's not welfare/ a benefit / a privilege)

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Izzy@lemmy.world 103 points 1 year ago

Digital privacy. It should be illegal to track and store data on people without their consent.

[-] fubo@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hmm. If you were to assault me, and my friend took your picture while you're doing it, should you be allowed to forbid my friend from publicly posting that picture?

A picture of you is certainly data about you. And you'd presumably prefer that they not publish evidence that you assaulted me. However, I think it's in the public interest that my friend should get to publish their photo even without your consent.

[-] Izzy@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

A single picture is circumstantial. I'm more talking about mass collections of information for some kind of data analysis.

[-] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

That's where the reasonable expectation of privacy provision usually comes into play. It is already illegal to go up to the window of someone's home and take pictures of them, why then is it legal for companies like google to gather information about your activity, such as browsing habits, without asking or even notifying you. Microsoft is another really bad offender here, modern versions of Windows collect and transmit massive amounts of telemetry regarding everything from what hardware you're using to what programs you run and how often, just as a basic part of the operating system.

load more comments (8 replies)
[-] xenspidey@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 year ago

Yes, innocent until proven guilty. The picture would be logged in as evidence to the authorities.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] fubo@lemmy.world 48 points 1 year ago

Anyone held in prison, jail, or other confinement shall be permitted to post up to one kilobyte (1024 characters) of text every day. These posts shall be published on a public web site operated by the imprisoning authority, and in print form in the imprisoning authority's capital city or other central location. These posts shall be tagged with the prisoner's name, geographic location, and any identification number the imprisoning authority uses.

This serves a few purposes:

  • No government or other authority may hold a prisoner secretly.
  • All prisoners may plead their innocence to anyone who cares to hear.
  • No prisoner is to be held in such complete isolation that they can't communicate to the public about the conditions of their imprisonment.
  • Anyone interested in auditing the state of their government's prisons may begin by inspecting the stated locations of prisoners.
  • Any prisoner who is not literate shall be afforded literacy education to enable them to participate.
[-] Pyroglyph@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

This may go awry if some prisoners are not remorseful. For example, let's say an extremist murdered some women because he believes them to be inferior. They could use this as a platform it to spout their ideals and to convince others to do it. It would also make it trivial to pass messages from imprisoned gang members outwards to the still-free members. Not exactly things we want to encourage.

[-] freehugs@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's also never going to be an effective method for transparency once the government/facility inevitably starts censoring certain contributors for more or less legitimate safety concerns. Most inmates already have ways to communicate with the outside world anyway through their lawyers and families, so I don't really see the point for either side of the cell door.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] sumofchemicals@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I think there's some legitimate concern about essentially giving prisoners a broadcast. You're right that they ought to have some minimum amount of guaranteed communication, but more in the sense that they can call their family or friends without having to pay fees.

Also would love to see solitary confinement outlawed.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] tdawg@lemmy.world 45 points 1 year ago

surprised no one has brought this up, but freedom from religion. Shouldn't have your life incessantly bombarded by people trying to pressure you into what amounts to a socially acceptable cult

[-] pepperonisalami@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

There are some countries (Indonesia) which it is mandatory to have a religion, at least it must be listed in your ID. Atheists will just list any (official) religion they want on it and don't practice. Sucks that it's so easy to discriminate people based on that.

[-] herbicarnivorous@lemm.ee 38 points 1 year ago

The right to die. At least in the US, the way we treat end of life is absolutely backwards and often the opposite of patient care. If someone wants to die despite therapy and health intervention, who are we to deny them?

[-] LaVacaMariposa@mander.xyz 9 points 1 year ago

Yes, this is what I want to see. We give animals more dignity at the end of their life than we give humans.

[-] Jackthelad@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

It's the same here in the UK. Even terminally ill people are not allowed to end their lives and end up having to go to Dignitas.

There was a story of one guy who was severely disabled. He needed 24-hour care and was just utterly miserable. He appealed for the right to end his life early to put an end to his suffering but the government denied him. He ended up just starving himself to death.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] iByteABit@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago

I agree 100%, but it's important to note that it's a very difficult issue. Whether someone actually wants to die or if they're mentally ill and are making a terrible irreversible mistake is often quite a tough line to draw, making this a very complex problem to solve.

load more comments (5 replies)
[-] Erikatharsis@kbin.social 34 points 1 year ago
  • The right to solidarity, i.e. all should be allowed to partake in solidary action during a strike.
  • The right of initiative and right to recall.
  • The right to free software, or freedom from proprietary software.
  • The right to a third place, i.e. ready access to physical spaces that allow for socializing with strangers.
  • Freedom from eviction (mainly wrt rent strikes and squatting.)
  • The right to democratic education.
  • The right to cross borders.
  • The right to be forgotten.
  • The right to purpose, or freedom from meaningless labor. This includes the right to an employee fund.

And there are of course other things. I just think that under the world's current paradigm, these, at least individually, seem relatively attainable without a literal revolution.

[-] monk@lemmy.unboiled.info 4 points 1 year ago

The right to cross borders alone would require about a hundred revolutions. Which is a shame, because voting with our feet is a phenomenally good way of putting people in control of countries.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] RecursiveParadox@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

The right to access the internet via broadband wherever possible. Money should not prevent this.

[-] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 9 points 1 year ago

Especially now, where it's pretty much impossible to do any administrative paperwork without any internet access

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] RocksForBrains@lemm.ee 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Data ownership.

Everything you do, every action you take, is commodified down to the very steps you take. Even if you refuse to participate, there will be a "you" shaped hole due to the amount of related data.

Overall we are all generating huge amounts of data, content and financial information. We need new laws to direct the ownership and related income of the data each person generates.

In regard to the US: if we are a capitalist nation, than being an American citizen is an investment. I want to see returns on that investment.

I truthfully think privacy is dead and we need to look forward at what we can control. We can control this, and companies should not be allowed to make billions off your mere existence.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] ashok36@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

A 7 year limit on having old posts, videos, writings, or other records of your words and opinions used against you. This includes no more lifetime bans on anything. If you change your ways and keep your nose clean for seven years, society can no longer use your past actions against you.

This does not apply to criminal sentencing of course, though that whole mess should be reexamined much more frequently.

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 7 points 1 year ago

Criminal sentencing should be the same as the posts, IMO. Prison should be rehabilitating, not just punishment/legal slavery. There should be punishment, yes, but even parents who spank their children usually tell their kids why they got spanked and how not to get spanked again. Prisons seem to forgo that second part of it, and focus entirely on the spanking aspect.

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

What's frustrating is there's an obvious and effective way to incentivise that too. You don't even need to give up private prisons.

Just split the payment. The prison gets paid say 20% up front. The rest is paid out over the 10 years post release. If the inmate ends up back in prison, the rest of the payments are lost.

Basically, 80% of their income is made by keeping the inmates from reoffending. Kicking them to the kerb with no skills becomes a big loss. Job training, and a robust post release support network are suddenly money makers, rather than sinks.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Forbo@lemmy.ml 19 points 1 year ago

I think we've reached a point technologically that it's entirely within our grasp to secure the base layer of Maslow's hierarchy of needs for everyone. Air, water, food, shelter, clothing, medical care.

[-] sumofchemicals@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

I hadn't thought about air, but seems like it will become a more and more relevant right (and one everyone can claim even in a more traditional sense of a right)

[-] RedC@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 year ago

UBI, it's hard to believe people see the way things are going with AI and Automation and they're not talking more about Universal Basic Income.

[-] MossBear@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

Others have covered it pretty well. Food, shelter, healthcare would be the highest immediate priorities I would think. We have the means, we just don't have the will or the culture (collectively speaking anyhow).

[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Once food, water, shelter, clothing, and health care are covered (or alternatively, a universal basic income that covers these needs), I'd like to see us start establishing rights for intelligent animals.

[-] banana_meccanica@feddit.it 16 points 1 year ago

A living wage for every human. This society have the money to cover all, but still we accept to let other humans die on poverty because "they don't contribute to the capitalism". Fucking disgusting everyday.

[-] orphiebaby@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago
[-] FrankTheHealer@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

Access to open source, end to end encrypted technology. Particularly for messaging/ communication.

[-] sumofchemicals@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Seems like you might want to go broader than talking about a specific method or feature of technology. Maybe something like "right to private communication"?

load more comments (6 replies)
[-] DmMacniel@feddit.de 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Irrevocable right of bodily expression

Irrevocable right to abortion

Irrevocable right to euthanasia

No tax exemptions for any type of religion.

[-] xenspidey@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 year ago

Bodily expression is too broad, also tax exemptions for no one would be better.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] electric@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Maybe not a right but more a commitment for governments towards public transportation. Not having a car makes everything so much harder. Having as much coverage as possible within reason, more buses and drivers, expanding metro lines. Right now in my city it is just "bearable", I am at least grateful I can do things like see buses on the map and transferring to trains is easy. Was much worse before! Not like governments wouldn't be able to make their money back, and imagine how many less car crashes and traffic clogs we could have. Not to mention the environmental benefits.

Also electric buses are cool. So quiet and can charge in them.

Edit: To elaborate on why it should be a right: it is not like in the olden days when you could walk to the store or your job. Everything is simultaneously dense and far thanks to how zoning works and cities being car-oriented. The right to mobility exists in America, but what if we took it further and made sure you really could go where you wanted without having to invest in a car?

[-] TheDoctorDonna@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Public transportation should be free for everyone on top of that. We need to do everything possible to discourage driving in favour of public transport for the sake of the environment and our future selves, plus the bus driver would no longer be able to turn away poor people on hot days.

load more comments (6 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)

I think you're using the word right correctly, ultimately you're pointing out things that you think people should have inherently and that shouldn't be based on merits or taken from someone based on crimes. I generally agree with your list, though to add on I think that the right to transportation is fundamental to enabling most opportunities in a society and that the United States could greatly improve upon their public transit system.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] T0rrent01@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

The right to quit, if things get corporate and greedy and the people, the people who actually form the community only get screwed over. Whether it's a job, a club, or a social media platform.

[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Welcome to at-will employment. Be careful of exactly what you're asking for.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Skellybones@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Right to Information

Allowing the public to get access to information without it being censored or hidden.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] xenspidey@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 year ago

I think one problem with this is, most of you are all talking about positive rights. Rights are things government can't take away not things the government gives you. Rights are inherent. Think of it as more the government can't deny you food, not, the government will supply you food. The one post about abortion would be that the government can't deny you medical autonomy, that would cover it, as well as dying if desired. Then the debate just has to decide when a life is a life and requires protection (not having that debate here)

[-] TootSweet@latte.isnot.coffee 4 points 1 year ago

I believe in "to each according to need," (or to put it into the language of a "right," the right to fulfillment of your needs.) but I don't trust "countries" to do that. There's a long history of governments saying they're doing that while perpetuating the worst atrocities.

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2023
214 points (96.5% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27036 readers
740 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS