Philosophical Reflections on Power and Rights

Author: Wang Lijun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The author of the article "Speculations on Power and Rights" does not agree with the simplistic view that power can be reduced to state power and rights to individual rights. In this book, she attempts to redefine the logical starting point of the issue of power and rights. The author argues that power represents an effective constraint, while rights embody both the attributes of legitimacy and effectiveness. It is precisely because rights and power overlap in their intrinsic composition that people often use them interchangeably in many situations. This overlap between power and rights is formed through their interactive relationship. Throughout the entire process of legal activities, on one hand, various real-world powers play an active and dynamic role; not only is the content of legal norms a product of power struggles, but the implementation of law is often permeated, interfered with, or even manipulated by real-world power relationships. On the other hand, legal activities can also reverse the nature of power. Through certain power struggles and the value choices of lawmakers, some powers are recognized and supported by the legal system, transforming them into powers with legal legitimacy—legal rights. This transformation has brought two profound consequences to social life: First, when power is transformed into legal rights, the power holder can use the force of the legal system to make interests "automatically flow toward themselves." Second, although the power element in legal rights has not disappeared, it is subjected to certain control. Law is a tool used by the ruling class to alleviate tensions among various power holders and to keep power conflicts within the bounds of "order." In this sense, law always signifies a restriction on power, regardless of whether this power comes from individuals, social organizations, or the government. By setting and balancing rights among legal subjects, the legal system can largely fulfill the tasks of mitigating social conflicts, resolving social tensions, achieving social harmony, maintaining social stability, guiding people in understanding and correctly addressing the contradictions between humans and nature, and implementing a scientific development outlook. Therefore, in the legal field, legal rights are a power recognized as legitimate under law, a rationalized power. This concept applies equally to "citizens' rights" in law and to "state power" in law. This is because, from their most general characteristics, they share the same "legal legitimacy" in nature and are structurally unified as the unity of action rights and control rights. Their realization also requires the guarantee of others' obligations and state coercion. To support the above arguments, the author has collected a large amount of data, including domestic research materials, as well as international research materials, legal research materials, and research materials from other social sciences, providing rich, detailed, and highly targeted evidence for arguing a complex issue in basic legal theory. I believe the publication of the author's research achievements will have significant implications for promoting the in-depth development of legal theory and legal research in China. I also hope the author can continue research in this direction, achieving higher-level results in the theoretical study of power and rights.