The Essential-Liberalism Manifesto (Article V)
V. RIGHT TO THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
1. Right to freedom of thought: You have an
absolute right to think any thoughts and hold any beliefs.
2. Right to pursue knowledge:
You have the right to seek knowledge from any available source
(including the Internet, which cannot be “filtered” by the
government), and to pursue your education.
3. Right to free expression:
You have the right to express privately and publicly facts, ideas,
opinions, and emotions, in spoken, written, visual, artistic, and
other such means, on any topic, including dissent or criticism of
any opinion, ideology, or event, or the government and its actions,
or a past or present public official, public personality, private
person, or any other entity. This right also includes the right to
do the same by publishing in print or any other media. You further
have the right to privately and publicly express your tastes,
preferences, and practices in such matters as language and culture,
as well as in art, fashion, food, and drink.
The right to free expression does not
extend to slanderous or libelous information, or to incitement to
unlawful activity or violence within the state, or to the expression
of information legally recognized as overwhelmingly harmful and
devoid of merit.
The spreading of information can be
prevented in advance if, in the absence of outweighing
considerations, such information is deemed by a court of law to pose
a serious threat of undermining national security, or if it would
present a likely danger of greatly and unduly harming the rights of
others.
4. Right to privacy:
As regards your body, as well as property, places, and circumstances
that are largely under your control and in which your interests far
outweigh those of others, you are free to enjoy a high degree of
privacy, with no undue intrusion or interference by any person or by
the government. This expectation is greatest in one’s residence,
with one’s personal effects and personal correspondence, and in
intimate situations.
5. Right to assemble and to protest:
You have the right to join others in peaceful public assembly and
demonstration, with limited and reasonable restrictions of time,
place, and manner as per public order, safety, health, and morals,
as well as in consideration of the fundamental rights and freedoms
of others.
6. Right to associate and be
politically affiliated: You have the right to
associate with any other willing person or persons for non-criminal
purposes, whether for profit or not for profit, and whether formally
as an organization or union, or informally. You also have the right
to choose your political affiliation, or to refrain from doing so.
You further have the right to renounce your citizenship in the state
if you have been granted citizenship in another state.
7. Right to practice one’s religion:
You have the right to adopt any religious faith of your free
choosing, and to express such faith (to the extent you wish to do
so) in private and in public, individually and communally, and in
all forms of expression (prayer, ceremony, dress, diet, etc.). You
also have the right to set up public houses of worship, and the
right to seek to promote your religious faith to individuals,
groups, and society at large through any lawful means.
8. Right to change one’s religion and
to be free from being forced to adopt any religion:
You have the right to change your religious faith, or to have no
religious faith at all. You have the right not to be forced (by the
government or any group, individual, or other legal entity) to
profess or practice any religious faith. Tolerating the public
expression of religious faith by others does not constitute being
forced to practice others’ religion.
9. Right to cohabitate with any other
adult: You have the right to cohabitate with any
other adult or adults, related or unrelated to you by blood, male or
female.
10. Right to have romantic relations,
sexual relations, enter into marriage, and divorce:
You have the right to be romantically involved with any other
consenting adult regardless of the marital status of either party.
You also have the right to have sexual relations in private with
another consenting adult, including of your own sex. Such right does
not apply if the parties are closely related by blood, and with
various restrictions applying when done for pay.
A man and a woman of marriageable age
(typically 18) have the right to marry each other for any reason
(with the free consent of both parties to the marriage, so long as
neither is already married); to divorce for any reason (with the free
consent of either party to the marriage); to re-marry; and to remain
single.
Marriages may be officiated by a religious
or non-religious official authorized to do so by the state.
In marriage, husband and wife have equal rights and responsibilities
in the eyes of the law.
Civil unions and domestic partnerships may
be extended to two individuals who do not meet some of the
requirements of marriage.
11. Right to bear children and raise
them: Any adult woman not deemed legally incompetent
to do so (by a judge, on a case-by-case basis) has the right to bear
children and to raise them.
12. Right to engage in recreational
activities: You have the right to engage in sports,
hobbies, and other recreational pursuits of your choosing, as well as a right to rest
and leisure.
13. Right to own and take care of
pets: You have the right to own and take proper care
of any pet except those deemed by law to be particularly dangerous
or endangered.
14. Right to form contracts:
Any adult not deemed legally incompetent to do so (by a judge, on a
case-by-case basis) has the right to form contracts for lawful
purposes with other adults or other legally recognized entities
(such as corporations or the government).
15. Right to seek employment and be
compensated: You have the right to freely chose your
profession, and to seek to reap the rewards of your contribution as
mutually agreed between you and your employer, or through the use of
collective bargaining. You also have the right to choose to be unemployed.
16. Right to strike:
You have the right to strike and not be punished by your employer
for doing so. The right to strike may be greatly or entirely
curtailed by the government in the case of employees who are in
vital industries or positions.
17. Right to spend your money:
You have the right to spend your own money and use your own assets
in any lawful way and to have upon your death your money and assets
passed on to any beneficiaries you choose.
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Page last updated: October 15, 2008