What Is Natural Law?

Column for week of August 4, 2014

     For as long as I remember I have heard that the
Declaration of Independence and Constitution are based on
natural law and inalienable rights.  I never saw a coherent
explanation of how it worked.

     What is the foundation of natural law?  The first clue is
that we should look to the nature of man to find principles on
which to build.

     An individual has only two options.  Either he is free to
control himself and make his own choices, or he is controlled by
others.  Another name for control is ownership.  The owner has
the right to control what he owns.  The flip side is, he owns
what he has the right to control.

     An individual has only two options.  Either the individual
owns himself, or is owned by others.  The options are freedom
or slavery.  In partial slavery the individual is only partially
owned by others.

     Slavery is repugnant to humans.  Still, some willingly
enslave others.  They are far less enthusiastic about being
enslaved.

     Thus, we find in the nature of individuals the first
principle of natural law.  The individual must own himself. 
Slavery violates the nature of man.  I am considering only the
relationships among humans.  I leave it to the theologians to
ponder humans' relationships with deity.

     To survive we must work and produce at least the
necessities for life.  Even living off nature requires effort to
harvest and use nature's bounty.  The second principle of natural
law flows from the first.  Individuals are entitled to own the
fruits of their labor.

     Humans bring ingenuity and labor to their tasks.  All
other resources are found in nature.  As long as those resources
lay untouched, no one owns them.  Individuals claim those
resources by possessing and improving them.

     The individual owns that with which he is the first to mix
his efforts.  The person who picks wild berries or mines
unclaimed ore owns the berries and the ore.  If he cultivates the
berries or builds a mine the individual gains ownership of the
berry patch or the mine.  They become an extension of the
individual and he owns them as part of his self.  Simply making
a claim of ownership isn't enough.  Only using and controlling
the resources creates ownership.

     Of course, owners must be free to exchange with others. 
The right to freely trade is a natural part of self ownership.

     Not all individuals respect the ownership of others.  The
third principle of natural law is the individual's right to defend
himself and the resources he has rightfully claimed.  This right
includes possession and use of tools, including weapons, which
may be useful in defending himself and his property.  Interfering
with individuals' rights to self defense violates the natural rights
of individuals.

     Free, self owning, individuals have the right to choose to
associate, or not associate, with others.  All associations must be
voluntary on the part of all parties.

     Other rights that many of us deem important flow
naturally from self ownership.  I only have space for a few
examples.

     Individuals have the right to freely communicate with all
others who are willing to listen.  Everyone also has the right to
refuse to listen.  Each may use any resources he owns or is
authorized to use by the owner.  He may build a printing press
or a platform.  No one owes him either.  No one has to
volunteer to listen.

     Also, each has the right to use his resources to practice
his religion, unless his religious practices violate the natural,
universal rights of all individuals.  No one has the right to steal
or murder, even if he claims his religion requires it.

     Reasoning from the basic principles of self ownership, we
can find answers to nearly every question about conflicts among
individuals.  Not only that, the answers are compatible with most
moral principles commonly recognized today.  We don't need
half a million pages of laws.

aldmccallum@gmail.com
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Copyright 2014
Albert D. McCallum