Zhu Wanrun, Jilin University
Abstract: Our time is a “Age of Rights”, where rights play a predominant role in every aspect of social life, with the right to same-sex marriage as the latest evidence. In my opinion, the two most powerful institutions human beings have ever invented are market economy and rights-based social arrangements. Both of the two topics have been the focus of academic studies for centuries. The difference is that, by now, we have a large body of knowledge about market economy, while there is little knowledge if nothing at all about rights. This fact is even more stunning and unsettling considering that, on one hand, rights are the basis and cornerstone of modern political order, without which, it is hard to imagine how political values such as liberty, rule of law, democracy will be implemented; on the other hand, we have so little knowledge about rights, and most part of the research on rights are based on “normative theory,” which can be summarized in one sentence: we should have rights. Billions of people are living under an institution that we do not know well, isn’t that a miracle?
Why are rights such a powerful discourse? Is there any mechanism behind it? These are the questions this paper aims to answer. In this paper, I will argue that negative rights are long term Nash Equilibria, that is partially the reason why rights are such a powerful language. The paper is organized in this way: in section I of this paper, I will suggest an alternative way of formalizing rights into normal form games; section II will explore rights in an evolutionary game context; Section III will demonstrate the proof of the conclusion that negative rights are long term Nash Equilibria.
About the HYI Working Paper Series: The Harvard-Yenching Institute is pleased to make available working papers by HYI affiliated scholars on topics in the humanities and social sciences, with special attention to the study of Asian culture.
The HYI Working Paper Series welcomes submissions from all HYI-affiliated faculty and fellowship grantees (including graduate students). Scholars are invited to post papers either in English or in an Asian language. To submit a paper, please email strogatz@fas.harvard.edu.
The views expressed in the HYI Working Paper Series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. HYI Working Papers have not undergone formal review and approval. Such papers are included in this series to elicit feedback and to encourage discussion. Copyright belongs to the author(s). Papers may be downloaded for personal use only, and may not be cited without the author’s permission.