Shue, Henry. "Security and Subsistence". In Basic Rights: Subsistence, Affluence, and US Foreign Policy, by Henry Shue, 13-34. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996.

Shue, Henry. "Security and Subsistence". In Basic Rights: Subsistence, Affluence, and US Foreign Policy, by Henry Shue, 13-34. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996.

• A moral right to something [food, security, etc.] means that:
• That right is justified in some way. The reasons can very, but it means that there are good and recognized reasons for why you should have access to something, and that many people will recognize the validity of your right. It is a demand for something that has good reasons behind it that many will recognize (13-14).
• The right implies access to something else, either a tangible or intangible good. A right to democracy is only fulfilled if democracy exists, it is not enough that 'right to democracy' exists (15).
• Society is expected to provide the conditions for that right to be fulfilled. It is not expected that the individual will take all necessary steps to guarantee their own rights, but that the onus of responsibility rests on society to fulfill the rights of citizens. It is expected that the 'right to security' will be fulfilled through others not commiting violence rather than individuals living in bunkers and driving tanks (16-17).
• It cannot be expected that societies anyway are able to fully guarantee rights in all instances. The standard by which fulfillment of rights should be judged is that 'standard threat'. A society is fulfilling the rights of its members if they can exercise these rights while protected from standard threats (17).
• The author contends that governments have a duty to fulfill the rights of citizens in three ways: to avoid doing things which would deprive citizens of their rights, to protect citizens against the deprivation of their rights, and to aid citizens in cases where they have been deprived of their rights (17).
• One of the chief purposes of morality is to protect the very weakest in society from those social and natural forces which would exploit or immiserate them. This morality defines the 'basic rights' of a person, the level below which society will not allow one of its members to sink (18).
• A basic right is defined by the fact that other rights cannot be enjoyed without access to that basic right. Examples would include a 'right to life' and a 'right to food' since no other rights can be enjoyed if someone is dead (19).
• Basic rights are not the classical liberal rights of freedom, but also demand certain positive rights. If the right to food is regarded as basic, then that places a responsibility on the rest of society to provide food to the starving (19).
• The first basic right proposed by the author is the 'right to physical security', meaning the right to not be murdered, maimed, raped, or beaten. Without the right to security, an individual cannot exercise any of their other rights as access to the fulfillment of these rights can be prevented by the threat of physical violence. Access to food, education, or other rights can blocked by physical violence, meaning that the right to security is a basic right (20-21).
• The second basic right proposed by the author is the 'right to subsistence', meaning minimal access to clean water, adequate food, adequate clothing, shelter, and emergency medical care. This must at least be provided to children, the infirm, and other who cannot provide for themselves. Without these basic needs, a person will die or live a life of such misery that exercising any other rights is impossible, and that the right to subsistence is a basic right (23-25).
• Rights must exist in addition to basic conditions. If a situation of peace and prosperity exists, but there is not system to prevent violence or starvation, than citizens are not truly secure in their rights which could be deprived at any time due to the actions of others (26).