If rights were merely words on a page, we’d all stand on equal ground. But “having a right” is far more complex, conditional, and deeply political than we often admit. Rights don’t exist in isolation; they adapt and respond to who we are, what we have, and—critically—who holds power.
For many, rights are elusive promises, always slightly out of reach. For others, they feel inherent, woven tightly into the fabric of their lives. And power is the deciding factor—determining who benefits from rights as secure entitlements and who is left fighting for even a glimpse of them.
When we truly examine rights in a world divided by power, a layered spectrum appears. At one end are lofty ideals—concepts like freedom and dignity that feel abstract, often distant. As rights move closer to lived experience, they resemble privileges accessible only to those deemed “worthy.” For the rest, rights become a constant negotiation, a struggle within systems that treat them as conditional or disposable.
Power is the thread determining who has which rights, who struggles to hold on, and who is left on the margins, fighting to be seen as fully human.
1. Rights as Ideals: Power’s Sleight of Hand
At the highest level, rights exist as ideals—freedom, dignity, fairness. These are values we’re all encouraged to believe in, principles everyone supposedly deserves. They make us feel virtuous, as if we inhabit a society built on justice and equality. But here’s the truth: as long as rights remain abstract, they cost nothing to those in power. Abstract rights don’t disrupt control or demand any real change; they serve as convenient symbols of virtue that allow power to posture without accountability.
Take freedom of expression. As an idea, it’s untouchable—a democratic pillar. But when people exercise it to challenge authority, when it threatens the status quo, limits are quickly imposed, and the real cost of speaking out is made clear. Power backs rights only as long as they’re non-threatening; but the moment they start to matter, these ideals reveal themselves to be little more than words on a page, valued for their symbolic comfort more than any real impact.
This critique echoes my discussion in "The Hidden Harm in Self-Help," where I examined how self-help narratives focus on individual empowerment while ignoring the systemic obstacles that keep people trapped. Like abstract rights, self-help suggests that change lies within personal effort, overlooking the structures that sustain inequality.
2. Rights as Privileges on Loan: The Power to Define Worthiness
As rights descend from lofty ideals into lived experience, they lose their universal appeal and morph into “conditional benefits.” Voting rights, access to healthcare, and public support may seem like fundamental rights, but in reality, they’re privileges—granted selectively by those in power.
Conditional rights are not entitlements; they’re privileges that people must constantly prove they deserve. And who determines worthiness? Not an impartial judge, but those influenced by historic biases and existing power structures. These conditions reinforce inequalities, transforming the idea of a “right” into something that can be revoked at any time. For those on the margins, “having a right” becomes an exhausting negotiation, a battle that is never fully won.
In “Reclaiming Your Right to Pleasure,” I explore how marginalized groups are often expected to justify their basic needs for joy and autonomy, as if these experiences must be earned. This framing of worthiness highlights how our systems are built to favor some while demanding that others prove their humanity, over and over.
3. Rights as Commodities: The Marketplace of Protection
This is where rights move from ideals into something unsettlingly transactional. When rights are commodified, they’re no longer “for everyone”—they become privileges up for sale. Access to healthcare, legal protection, secure housing—these should be basic human rights, yet they’re only available to those who can afford them. For the wealthy, rights feel solid and dependable. For everyone else, they’re precarious or nonexistent.
In this setup, money isn’t just a means of exchange; it’s access to justice, safety, and dignity. Rights stop functioning as assurances and instead become products on a shelf, available only to those with the resources to buy them. In a world where rights have a price, the concept of universal rights is a fiction. Through wealth, power draws a line, creating a divide where rights are privileges accessible to those who can pay.
This commodification directly relates to my post "Decommodification: Redefining Basic Needs," where I argue that our systems prioritize profit over human dignity, perpetuating inequality by treating essential needs as market goods. Rights, in this setup, become tokens of privilege, auctioned off to those who can afford them, while those without resources are left without basic protection.
4. Rights as Community Agreements: The Illusion of Belonging
In our communities, workplaces, and neighborhoods, rights often take the form of social agreements rather than formal protections. People rely on each other for respect, privacy, and support, fostering a sense of safety not backed by laws but by mutual understanding.
Yet these community-based rights are fragile. They exist only as long as you “fit.” If you step outside the group’s standards, these protections vanish. For those who don’t belong, these rights feel like walking on thin ice—upheld only as long as they conform. Here, rights reveal themselves not as safeguards of justice, but as rewards for social conformity. Those who deviate from the norm find themselves without support, excluded from the collective sense of protection that others take for granted.
This theme connects to “The Festival and Non-Festival Divide,” where I examined how belonging is often conditional, with social spaces constructed to welcome some and exclude others. Community agreements expose the precariousness of inclusion, showing how easily social norms can turn into barriers that strip certain people of protection.
5. Rights as Daily Safeguards: Institutions as Selective Enforcers
As we approach lived reality, rights become the everyday protections people rely on for dignity and safety—fair pay, secure housing, healthcare access. Ideally, these rights would be enforceable, with institutions acting as guarantors. But here, institutions reveal their role as selective enforcers, choosing who deserves protection and who does not.
Institutions are supposed to create stability, but for many, they act as walls rather than gateways. Rights feel secure for some but appear as a gamble for others, depending on institutional biases and shortcomings. For those without power, institutions become walls, selectively deciding when rights apply and when they don’t. This setup exposes the absurdity of treating access to dignity as a matter of luck, or worse, a bureaucratic decision rather than a birthright.
This selective enforcement of rights echoes my critique in "Structural Failures of Alternative Journalism," where I explored how institutions control narratives to maintain the status quo. Just as media outlets decide which voices to amplify, other institutions determine whose rights are honored and whose are dismissed.
6. Rights as Identity: When Power Defines Humanity
At their most intimate, rights are embedded in our identities, shaping the very core of our selfhood—our sense of safety, bodily autonomy, and freedom from discrimination. These aren’t abstract principles; they dictate how safe, dignified, and free we feel in our own bodies and communities.
This is where power’s grip is most disturbing. When rights like safety, dignity, and autonomy are denied, it’s not just a bureaucratic failure—it’s a personal violation. Here, power exerts its control over the very concept of personhood. For those denied these rights, it’s a reminder that, to power, humanity itself is conditional, an identity granted only to those who meet its demands.
This struggle for rights tied to identity is poignantly captured in “Reclaiming Your Right to Pleasure,” where I explore how marginalized groups constantly navigate spaces that deny them basic humanity. When rights are treated as privileges, the denial of personhood becomes a constant reality, a reminder that dignity and humanity are gifts power can easily take away.
Exposing Power’s Gatekeeping Mechanisms
If we want to understand why rights are so unevenly accessible, we need to confront the systems of control that define and limit them.
1. Law as Power’s Tool
Legal guarantees may seem like a universal safeguard, yet laws are written and enforced by those with the most power. Through restrictive policies like voter suppression and gerrymandering, laws are crafted to exclude, serving not as tools of justice but as instruments of control, perpetuating the power of the privileged.
2. Media as Power’s Mouthpiece
Media shapes our perceptions of who “deserves” rights. Corporate-controlled outlets amplify certain stories while silencing others, framing protests and dissent in ways that reinforce existing power dynamics. This selective focus creates narratives around rights, influencing public opinion to align with those in control.
3. Bureaucratic Gatekeeping
Bureaucratic systems act as filters, blocking many people from accessing their supposed rights. Welfare offices, healthcare providers, and law enforcement agencies impose complicated processes, turning people into cases to be managed rather than humans to be respected. For marginalized groups, these systems are designed more to restrict than to support, limiting access to rights and dignity.
4. Capitalism’s Commodification of Rights
Under capitalism, essential rights like healthcare, housing, and education become commodities. For those with wealth, these “rights” are accessible; for those without, they’re luxuries. This system treats basic human needs as market opportunities, reinforcing class divides and reserving dignity and security for the affluent.
5. Individualization of Collective Rights
Our culture often portrays rights as individual accomplishments, implying that those without rights simply haven’t tried hard enough. This framing isolates people, turning collective issues into personal struggles. As I explored in "The Hidden Harm in Self-Help," the pressure to “pull yourself up” distracts us from the systemic forces holding people down, focusing on personal success rather than systemic accountability.
Rights as Power’s Currency: A Reality Check
Seeing rights across this spectrum—from lofty ideals to personal realities—forces us to abandon the fantasy that rights are universally or fairly distributed. Rights are controlled, rationed, withheld, and turned into privileges or illusions by those in power. They shift based on who you are, where you stand, and how much power you wield in return.
If we’re to reckon honestly with the nature of rights, we must recognize them not as guarantees but as instruments of control, dispensed selectively in a world that values privilege over justice. Rights, as they exist now, are less about safeguarding human dignity and more about reinforcing hierarchies, enabling the powerful to determine who counts and who is left to fight for scraps.
Until we confront and dismantle the structures that hoard and gatekeep rights, justice will remain a distant ideal, and dignity a fleeting privilege accessible only to those who meet power’s criteria. Rights, in their truest form, should not be illusions or tokens of power but real, unwavering assurances of safety and respect—a foundation we all deserve but that power continues to deny to many.
