First published in 1985. In this study, Donnelly distinguishes between "having a right" and "being right" and elaborates the distinction with great subtlety to show that rights have to be understood as action and not as a possession. This title will be of great interest to students of politics and philosophy.

Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: Being Right and Having a Right 2. The Nature of (Human) Rights: 'Having' a Human Right 3. The Source of Human Rights: Human Nature and Human Rights 4. Human Rights and the Limits of State Action: Competing Theories and Approaches 5. Individualism and Human Rights: Further Challenges to Human Rights 6. Postscript: The Problem of Lists; Bibliography; Index