In the following essay, Martin surveys Rawls's theories of rights

In this chapter I will first identify the various levels or stages at which Rawls has found talk of rights to be significant (i.e., rights in the original position, rights emerging from the original position in the principles of justice formulated there, etc.). I then go on to show how Rawls would regard rights at these various levels to be justified. The focus of our discussion will be on rights as embedded in the basic structure of a society. I will try to provide an interpretation of Rawls's claim that such rights are natural rights. Then, last of all, I will consider the implications of this conception of natural rights for global justice.