this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2024
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[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 23 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Something shouldn't have to be free to be a human right. That's an extremely right-wing American point of view, where they only believe in so-called "negative" rights.

A right to housing wouldn't mean builders and their suppliers have to work for free. That's the same kind of nonsense reasoning libertarians and conservatives use to argue against free healthcare.

A right to housing would impose an obligation on governments to do everything they can to ensure housing is readily available to anyone who wants it. Whether by ensuring that everyone can afford housing (economic policies that lower the cost of housing and/or put more money on people's pockets) or by directly ensuring the government itself can give people a place to live if they can't afford it. Ideally a mix of both.

[–] thantik@lemmy.world -5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

What you described there is not what a human right consists of. Sure, governments should do exactly what you say, but something considered a 'human right' has much higher standards. It MUST be met. It's not an optional strive-to-do-our-best situation.

[–] DoYouNot@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I mean healthcare is definitely a human right, but there is always more we could be doing. That's a kind of arbitrary distinction that I don't think adds anything to the discussion here.

Basic human needs are basic human rights. I really do think it's as simple as that.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Umm, no. That's just not correct. A human right is anything a human should have the right to. End of.

The practicalities of how we achieve that are a separate concern.