Right to Privacy and Personal Autonomy

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

– United States Declaration of Independence (1776)

“Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy…Civilization is the process of setting men free from men.”

– Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead (1943), p. 715

Your rights to privacy and personal autonomy are rights to having your life free from prying eyes, arbitrary restrictions, and discriminatory treatment. Maybe a government official without a warrant has searched your home, self, or other forms of property. Maybe the government is discriminating against you. Maybe the government is putting improper limits on your rights to travel or do business with people in other states. Maybe the state is impairing a contractual agreement you have made with another. If any of those have occurred or are occurring against you, please contact Ben, and he will see about fixing it.

The most obvious right you have to your privacy and personal autonomy is to be free from slavery or indentured servitude (except as punishment for a crime). If you are being forced to provide your services to anyone without your consent, and you are not free to leave, please contact Ben, and he will see about freeing you from this situation.

Finally, although you do not have a right to force the government to provide anything, you do have a right to force the government to provide what it does on an equal basis. If you are unfairly denied government services based on discrimination, please contact Ben, and he will see about getting you the assistance you seek.