Chapter 13, "Collectivized 'Rights'", Ayn Rand (1963) Summary and Analysis

In this chapter, Rand argues with the notion of collectivized rights. She asserts that societies must operate using a moral code. A society needs to devise moral principles to organize a system in which people choose the right goals and the right methods to achieve them. Just as an individual needs a moral code in order to survive, so too does a society. However, unlike individuals who have rights, societies do not have rights. They are merely entities comprised of individual people. The idea of collectivized rights is the idea that rights belong to groups and not to individuals. Therefore, it is the idea that rights belong to some individuals and not to others and that these privileged few have the right to deny the rights of others.

In a free...