Karl Marx Quote Of The Day
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From The Abolition of Landed Property (1869):
"If conquest constitutes a natural right on the part of the few, the many have only to gather sufficient strength in order to acquire the natural right of reconquering what has been taken from them."
You can not reconquer a natural right. A natural right is inherent. It was never taken or given by any mortal in the first place. If you were told to believe that someone can or has taken your natural right, you have been duped and gave them away to a non existing enemy that your are trying to fight. The only thing you have to do is exercise your natural right and leave others alone to do the same.
Hi! Thanks for your comment!
I agree that "natural rights" are by definition something that is inalienable to the subject whom they're ascribed to. To disagree would seem to be moronic.
However, I worry that this small excerpt from Marx's writing fails to provide the unknowing reader with a full contextual understanding, particularly Marx's sense of irony which imbues his writing.
Marx, here, is speaking of "natural rights" in the legalistic realm, specifically how "natural rights" are written into law and how this law is predicated on access to capital/currency.
In an ideal world, it is obvious that "natural rights" refers to something natural and inalienable. However, we do not live in an ideal world and so "natural" can refer to any number of things which may not, in fact, be natural in the classical sense, ie with the social production of classes, both economically and legalistically.