Where we start
Starting principles
Recognized rights, interpretations and normative choices do not all carry the same authority. Each entry separates what comes from external sources from what World4Humans proposes or integrates.
Human rights as a baseline
We start from existing human rights as the minimum baseline. When World4Humans adds a project-specific rule, we label it as our proposal.
Open sources and statusEqual dignity
Every person has equal dignity. Individual differences should be considered without turning them into discrimination or automatic classifications.
Open sources and statusReal autonomy
We see freedom as real only when a person can choose, leave a dependency and challenge power without losing the essentials of life.
Open sources and statusMaterial security
We propose that every person should be able to reach an effective baseline of goods, services and material security. This integrates existing rights; it is not a single new right already recognized in international law.
Open sources and statusNatural rent and common benefit
Our proposal is that residual rent tied to natural resources no one created requires a justification for who appropriates it and how it is used.
Open sources and statusHuman contribution
We propose separating a person’s contribution from rent, pure market price and advantages that cannot reasonably be attributed to their work.
Open sources and statusProperty and rent
We aim to protect legitimate property while distinguishing it from natural or monopoly rents and from forms of control that constrain other people’s freedom.
Open sources and statusAccessible knowledge
We think essential knowledge and fundamental benefits of science should be accessible, with public education playing a strong role.
Open sources and statusParticipation and contestability
We think power should explain its decisions, use reliable information and be open to challenge through effective remedies.
Open sources and statusNon-violence and use of force
We take non-violence as the default. Force remains an exception subject to necessity, proportionality and oversight.
Open sources and statusEcological limits and precaution
We propose that decisions respect physical and ecological limits and treat serious or irreversible risks with precaution.
Open sources and statusLimits on wealth and power
We think wealth and control of essential functions should not allow one person to exercise lasting control over other people’s freedom.
Open sources and statusChildren’s rights and care
We start from the view that children and people who depend on care hold rights of their own, and that services should protect them from abuse and harmful dependency.
Open sources and statusCategories for navigation
Principles, Requirements and Strategies are navigation categories. They are not a hierarchy of authority: each detail page separates external sources, World4Humans choices and research status.