Human Rights, Group Rights, and Peoples' Rights

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Abstract
A right is a group right only if it is borne by the group qua group. If the individuals who form a group hold rights as separate individuals, their several individual rights do not add up to a group right. For example, scientologists constitute a group whose members might be said to have a right to conduct their lives according to their beliefs (provided that, in doing so, they do not violate the rights of others). In saying that, however, we need not be ascribing a group right to scientologists. Rather, we may be saying only that individuals, including scientologists, have the right to conduct their lives as they choose. Thus, the relevant right is one held by each individual scientologist rather than by scientologists as a collectivity.

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