The Dominion-Post’s columnist Virginia Fallon has revealed yet another hitherto unknown human right to add to the lengthy list of such fictions.
Her’s in a recent column is “having a home is a human right”.
To repeat; there are no such things as natural human rights. There are legal rights albeit that’s no safe-guard against their breach. The lengthy list of fictitious natural human rights claims are in fact no more than a wish-list.
That same day in the New Zealand Herald, a correspondent, Alan Kemp, added to the list, writing of the fundamental right of every home-owner for his property never to be subject to a zoning change. That’s certainly an original one although the give-away is use of “fundamental”. As far back as 1929 commentators have noted that whenever “fundamental” is used as a prefix, the author is talking nonsense.
Virginia and Alan should get together. It could be a marriage made in heaven.
Mind you, I’m not guiltless. I’ve long claimed a fundamental human right to receive breakfast in bed and for the past four decades the various women in my life have all duly delivered.