If rights were natural, why were they 'discovered' or developed recently in the 17th or 18th centuries?
This is a good question. A number of factors conspired to shroud man's natural rights. First among them must be considered the ability to read and the availability of books. Before the 18th century, those who could read ruled those who couldn't. Once a significant number of people could read and the printing press made books available, individual rights spread. People say the enlightenment was when science replaced religion, but it is more correct to say, knowledge was interpreted for the many, not the few. Because before the 18th century, the Bible was used a cudgel against individual rights, but after, as the general public was able to read for themselves, it became clear God granted individual rights, not rights to a king. To this day, many view science and the Bible as diametrically opposed, when nothing could be further from the truth.
While Opteron follows the public school script of social contract and rights granted by man through a piece of paper (the constitution), the founders reject these notions. First of all, a contract, social or otherwise, requires willing participation. Terms freely agreed upon.
Elements of a contract:
. A party must have capacity to contract.That means parties in a contract must justify their majority in age to understand terms of the contract and be mentally able.
. The purpose of the contract must be lawful
. The form of the contract must be legal
. The parties must intend to create a legal relationship
. The parties must consent
Arguably none of these conditions are met, when a child enters the world or even when a child reaches the age of majority. However, failing any one of the elements, negates any purported "contract." The notion of a "social contract" is a fallacy.
Locke, Jefferson and Bastiat argued against the notion of a social contract, rather that government arose from need to maximize natural rights of citizens, to adjudicate boundaries where the equal rights of men intersected, protecting them from force and fraud. The founder's primary goal was to institute a self-limiting government with limited and enumerated power, so that government would not set one foot into the realm of the rights of free men. Rights granted by God, not by a piece of paper. Rights that can't be rightly taken away by man or government.