Which of the following are the 'natural rights' identified by political theorists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?

A) Right to life
B) Right to expression
C) Right to liberty
D) Right to equality
E) Right to property

Choose the correct answer from the given options:

A, C and E

The correct answer is Option 2 - A, C and E

A) Right to life
C) Right to liberty
E) Right to property

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, political theorists argued that rights are given to us by nature or God. The rights of men were derived from natural law. This meant that rights were not conferred by a ruler or a society, rather we are born with them. As such these rights are inalienable and no one can take these away from us. They identified three natural rights of man: the right to life, liberty and property. All other rights were said to be derived from these basic rights. The idea that we are born with certain rights, is a very powerful notion because it implies that no state or organisation should take away what has been given by the law of nature. This conception of natural rights has been used widely to oppose the exercise of arbitrary power by states and governments and to safeguard individual freedom.