Lauren Usami
Should
Individual Rights Take Precedence Over Collective Rights? Yes.
Introduction:
“…It is no small matter to know
whether we are going to live in a society in which personal rights, individual
rights, take precedence over collective rights.
It is no minor question of secondary importance to know whether we are
going to live in a society in which all citizens are equal before the law and
before the State itself. And it is no
trivial matter to determine if there will be a spirit of brotherhood and of
sharing in the society we are going to live in…When collective rights take
precedence over individual freedoms – as we see in countries where ideology
shapes the collectivity, where race, ethnic origin, language, and religion
shape the collectivity – we see what can happen to the people who claim the
live freely in such societies. When each
citizen is not equal to all other citizens in the state, we are faced with a
dictatorship, which arranges citizens in a hierarchy according to their
beliefs…” – Pierre Elliot Trudeau
-the Constitution Act
of 1982 and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are the basis for the
argument
-Pierre Elliot Trudeau, former Prime Minister spoke out during the referendum
and informed/educated Canadians on the importance of individual rights and at
the referendum was for collective rights
Summary:
- refer to the quote
above made by Trudeau, you see that in a collective rights society, you end up
with dictatorships or religious/ethnic wars
-1789 Declaration of
the Rights of Man and the Citizen and the 1791 Bill of Rights of the United
States of America recognized the “primacy of the individual over the state and
all government institutions, and in so doing, recognized that all sovereignty resides
in the people.” Even as there are
government institutions and state, the power and strength rested in the hands
of the people/citizens
-Canadian Charter did the same
thing; strengthen unity in the country by setting sovereignty of the people on a set of values common
to everyone and bring about the notion of equality within all Canadians.
-depending on who you
talk to, collective rights are better than individual; as Paul Marshall would
argue
-Trudeau argues “…they
transcend the accidents of place and time, and partake in the essence of
universal Humanity…no coercible by any ancestral tradition, being vassals
neither to their race, nor to their religion, nor to their condition of birth,
nor to their collective history.”
Ultimately, he states that only an individual is the possessor of rights
-a collectivity can
take their rights as individuals and come together (ethnically, linguistically,
religiously, professionally, etc.)
-
-question Trudeau raised was,
“what is to prevent a majority from riding roughshod over the rights of a minority?”
-the Charter and Constitution
protect minorities by enshrining the rights of individuals within minority groups
-where it is difficult to
distinguish and define individual rights, collective rights are used
-individual rights
help people keep their unique identity, but can also identify themselves with
other persons
-often hear the
phrase, “strength in numbers”; Trudeau argues that the “spirit and substance”
of the Charter protects any person or persons from being pushed around by the
state or any other individual who picks on someone by virtue of belonging to a
minority
-Trudeau states that “
-as many know,
-majority intolerance towards
minorities threatens Canadian unity
-Trudeau doesn’t
completely discount the notion of collective rights, because even in the
Charter, collective rights are mentioned
-collective rights in the Charter
allows us to generalize where protecting all the aspects that make them different would not only be
tedious but would eventually cause us to preside over the “balkanization” of Canada
-in respect to the French Canadians,
it is a very difficult area; disunity in
-Official Languages Act was
developed in the exact purpose to try and make Francophones feel at home outside
-you see in Trudeau’s quote how
important equality is for the nation as a whole and for its citizens: “a state that defines its
function essentially in terms of ethnics attributes would inevitably become chauvinistic and
intolerant. The state, whether
provincial, federal or perhaps later
supra-national, must seek the general welfare of all its citizens regardless of
sex, colour, race, religious beliefs,
or ethnic origin.”
-even in the respect
of language rights, they were given out as individual rights
-Trudeau states, “What we were
seeking was the individual himself to have the right to demand his choice of French or English in his relationships with
the federal government, and the
right to demand a French or English education for his children from a
provincial government. And the individual himself would have access
to the courts to enforce these rights.”
Glossary:
Precedence ~ superior rank, more honourable place
Rights ~ fair claim, persons being entitled to
privilege or immunity, thing one is entitled to
Individual ~ existing as a distinct entity; marked by
individuality
Collective ~ assembled as one whole; distinct identity
for entire group, no individuals
Society ~ a group of humans who interact together and
share a common ‘good’
Freedoms ~ liberty of persons from oppression by others
Constitution Act ~ fundamental laws and principles that
describe the nature and limitations of a government or institution
Enshrined ~ to cherish as sacred/important
Sovereignty ~ authority or power of person(s)
Inalienable Rights ~ rights that cannot be taken away from one
person and transferred to another
Coercible ~ compelled to think or act a certain way due
to pressure, threats, or intimidation
Pluralist ~ someone who believes that ethnic or cultural or religious groups can exist peacefully in society
Chauvinistic ~ prejudice belief in one groups superiority
Intolerant ~ Unwilling to accept differences in opinions or beliefs
Discussion Questions:
1. Referring back to Trudeau’s first quote;
“…When each citizen is not equal
to all other citizens in the state, we are faced with a dictatorship, which
arranges citizens in a hierarchy according to their beliefs…” Do you believe
that Trudeau is correct? Why or why not?
2. Does the quote
above give some insight into the societies rulers such as Hitler and Stalin
controlled? If it
does, how?
3. Can we exist in a
society that is completely based on individual rights, and vice versa?
4. You’ve seen what
Trudeau believes is needed to keep individualism and human personality. What do you believe is needed to support
individualism and human personality?
Does it differ drastically?
5. Is the Official
Languages Act enough for the Francophones?
Or do you think they deserve more, and if so, what?
6. Do you believe
7. Trudeau said, “
8.
Does individual rights
preserve human identity and uniqueness?
9.
Is collective rights needed
in existence with individual rights to produce a society of unity and
multiculturalism?
10. Should individual
right take precedence over collective rights?