The Role of Interest in Rights

For at least a century and a half there have been two main theories concerning the nature and basis of rights. Many theorists including myself take the view that interests lie at the foundations of rights, that is people's well-being. Competing with that understanding of rights is a focus instead on the will or the choices of the right holder. Here a right would be understood not so much as a protection of some aspect of a person's situation that furthers their well-being but an opportunity for an individual to make choices.