Religion & Reciprocity

In Our Declaration, Danielle Allen proposes two major bases for the principles of equality and liberty.

One rests on religion, specifically the belief that a creator endows people with certain unalienable rights. In this article, David Perell, an agnostic writer, goes so far as to argue that religion is the only basis for an understanding of human rights. He writes:

"Human equality is self-evident only if you assume, as Locke did, that God has given us the natural rights that modern Americans take for granted. The original Constitution says that our 'unalienable rights' are a result not of secular rationalism, but rather an omnipotent God who endows us with those rights."

The other basis proposed is reciprocity, the rational altruism that binds us all together. Nikki Case, a game developer, created a web game (pictured below) to highlight the importance of reciprocity and altruism for constructing cohesive communities.

I highly recommend giving both the article and the web game a look. It is well worth your time to consider your basis for valuing human equality and liberty.