Right politics have tended to be very antiCOMMU-
NIST, while Leftists were more sympathetic to commu-
nism. Rightists tend to be pro-economic development,
while Leftists are more pro-ENVIRONMENTALISM.
In the United States and Britain, the extreme Right
tends to be LIBERTARIAN; in Europe, it has approached
FASCISM. Both tend to be NATIONALISTIC, in favor of a
strong military and defense spending. Other conserva-
tive Right-wing leaders and movements include
William J. BUCKLEY, George F. WILL, Richard NIXON, the
JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY, and the Liberty Fund.
During the 1980s and 1990s, a resurgence of Right-
ist conservatism in Great Britain and the United States
reversed the 50-year dominance of Leftist (Labour
Party and Liberal Democratic Party) politics in those
countries.
rights
Benefits or possessions held by individuals or groups
and granted by God, nature, custom, or society.
For example, the individual NATURAL RIGHTS(described
by John LOCKE) to “Life, LIBERTYand PROPERTY” form
the basis of MODERN LIBERAL DEMOCRACY and CAPI-
TALISM. Locke traces the origins of these rights to
physical existence and self-preservation: Once a
person is alive, created, he or she has the right to
continue existence (until natural death occurs), or
“Life,” and to those things necessary to that continued
existence (“Liberty and Property”). Liberalism ex-
tends these basic rights (by John Stuart MILL) to the
social and intellectual rights (FREEDOM of speech,
press, religion, assembly, fair trial, etc.). The U.S. CON-
STITUTION’s Bill of Rights expresses these British liberal
rights.
From such MODERNindividual rights come contem-
porary group rights (women’s rights; HOMOSEXUAL
rights; ANIMAL RIGHTS; HUMAN RIGHTS—see related
articles).
CLASSICAL and Judeo-CHRISTIAN political theory
hardly mentions “rights,” emphasizing interrelated JUS-
TICE, public VIRTUE, obedience, and religious morality
more than the INDIVIDUALISMof private rights. Like
the concept of freedomor liberty ,these ancient and
Christian thinkers (see ARISTOTLE, St. AUGUSTINE) place
indivi-dual rights within a context of community
responsibility and conformance to God’s will and
COMMANDMENTS, and they regard the selfish assertion
of rights as rebellion and sin. Similarly, various Mod-
ern nonliberal philosophies (MARXISM, COMMUNISM,
SOCIALISM, FASCISM) disregard individual rights for
their divisive effects on the society, the community,
the nation, or the economy.
So the language of rights is primarily one of mod-
ern, individual self-assertion and not representative of
the entire Western tradition. The main value of rights
theory is the protection of individual belief and con-
science (religious and political), expression (speech
and press), and action against TYRANNICALgovernment
or oppressive institutional invasion.Further Readings
Dworkin, R. Taking Rights Seriously,rev. ed. Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1979.
Finnis, J. Natural Law and Natural Rights.Oxford, Eng.: Claren-
don Press, 1980.Robertson, Marion “Pat” (1930– ) U.S.
conservative political and religious leaderFounder of the Christian Broadcasting Network
(CBN) and Regent University in Virginia Beach,
Virginia, “Pat” Robertson is an outspoken CHRISTIAN
CONSERVATIVE and leader of religious telecommuni-
cations worldwide. The son of a prominent U.S. sena-
tor, Robertson attended Yale Law School before
entering the BAPTISTministry. His Christian television
network grew to a multimillion-dollar media empire
that broadcasts EVANGELICAL teaching and program-
ming from hundreds of television stations around the
world.
Politically, Robertson advances the CHRISTIAN RIGHT
agenda of opposition to liberal, HUMANIST, WELFARE-
STATE, HOMOSEXUAL, and FEMINIST U.S. politics. This
tended to align him with the conservative RIGHT WING
of the REPUBLICAN PARTYand against the LEFTIST DEMO-
CRATIC PARTY.
In 1986, he announced he would become a Repub-
lican candidate for the presidency of the United States.
After early successes, his campaign faltered under
continuous attacks from the liberal media and the
Democrats. Robertson’s involvement in U.S. politics
continued in his founding of the Christian Coalition, a
national conservative religious political organization
that encourages local chapters to oppose liberal educa-
tional, cultural, and governmental policies. He reflects
a traditional COVENANTview of American religion and
politics.Robertson, Marion “Pat” 261