&gt; I mean, how can you have power without rights?<p>Quite easily. &quot;Rights&quot; are the <i>moral</i> (in the case of idealized views of rights, including natural rights) or <i>legal</i> (in the case of legal rights) authority to make a decision and expect it to be respected by others. &quot;Power&quot; is the practical ability to make a decision and have it take effect (whether or not others respect it, though others respecting it may be part of why you have that ability.)<p>Power can be a result of legal rights which may be the result of a cultural agreement on moral views of rights, but its possible for any or all of those three to vary from the others rather than reflecting them.