&gt; You may believe in positive rights, like I have a right to food, shelter, etc. Others may believe in only negative rights, like I have the right to not provide you food, shelter etc. It&#x27;s funny how so much of political debate can boil down to this fairly simple idea.<p>The distinction between positive rights and negative rights is a lot less clear than is often presented. Sure, the right to food, shelter, etc. is framed in the language of positive right, but the right to not be obstructed in the pursuit of food, shelter, etc., is a framed in the language of negative rights.<p>Simply dividing things into positive and negative rights and saying that (as is one common argument) only &quot;negative&quot; rights are valid resolves nothing, even then there is considerable debate about <i>which</i> negative rights exist and, when they conflict, how you determine which has priority.