March 19, 2011

#2,979

As they cannot be defined univocally, nor irrefutably demonstrated, so-called “human rights” serve as a pretext for the individual who rebels against a positive law.
The individual has no more rights than the benefit that can be inferred from another’s duty.

Escolios a un Texto Implícito: Selección, p. 476

2 comments:

  1. The original Spanish is:

    No pudiendo ser definidos unívocamente, ni demostrados de manera irrefutable, los llamados “derechos humanos” sirven de pretexto al individuo que se insubordina contra una legislación positiva.
    El individuo no tiene más derechos que la prestación que pueda desprenderse de un deber ajeno.

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  2. The Spanish word translated here as "benefit" is prestación. It has a somewhat technical legal meaning. According to the Real Academia Española it means "the thing or service that one receives or is entitled to receive from another person in virtue of a contract or other legal obligation."

    "Benefit" (as in the the "benefit of the bargain" from contract law) is the closest English equivalent I can come up with.

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