26. Democracy must balance rights and responsibilities

The overwhelming focus on human rights has created an unhealthy imbalance by ignoring human responsibilities. Human responsibilities also originate from values but they are not properly reflected either in the UN or EU charters.

Rights do have a cost associated with their maintenance. Implementing rights and maintaining them over time has a price tag both in monetary terms as well as in keeping the ethical balance, which means that quite often somebody’s right is my responsibility. For example, my child has the right to be properly fed and clothed and it is my responsibility to make it happen. People have the right for emergency hospital care in case of an accident, and this is my responsibility to pay taxes due, to ensure that such a right can be materialized. See more here.