Economic Rights Vs Individual Rights

The readings assigned pertain to two opposing viewpoints of the role of government; economic rights, and individual rights. The main theme of both of these articles is focused on individual rights as presented in “The Economic Bill of Rights” (Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944). However, they present differing interpretations on how these are applied in practice and their expected results. There are main points made by each author, and each has their respective “pros and cons”. Both readings have aspects that can support your fulfillment of “The American Dream” and relate to other materials presented in this course, such as, the quote by Thom Hartman and Food, Inc. the film.
The first aspect is, the main ideas presented in each article. The three
The pros in the first article by Ayn Rand are that individual rights are about choice, which includes: where your money goes, and that the government’s sole purpose was to protect these rights. For instance, choosing where your money goes would include having a say in where your tax money goes, which would contribute to the willingness of citizens to pay taxes. The pros of the other article are “security and prosperity for all,” and programs to help individuals when needed. As an example, the introduction of Social Security programs. The cons in the first article by Ayn Rand is that many of the citizens who were in need of temporary help would not have had anywhere to turn, and that they manipulated the system by moving “rights” out of the political to economic aspect of governance in 1960. The con of the other is that the “rights” need further clarification, such as, were they meaning for the government to provide them with these things if they did not have
Two of these are directly related. The first is “the right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return, which will give him and his family a decent living” and the second is “the right of every businessman, large or small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition, and domination by monopolies at home or abroad.” The film food, Inc. portrays farmers in today’s world, most of whom are being forced into debt or forced out of business by corporate farms along with the effects GMO seeds are having on their farms and farming practices. This includes, the farmer’s inability to save seed and inhumane practices they are forced to implement on their farms. Such as the overcrowding of