"What men value in this world is not rights but privileges"

Human society is often celebrated for its emphasis on rights, those fundamental liberties and guarantees presumed to ensure justice, agency, and dignity. Yet, rights are egalitarian by nature, available to all, leveled to a baseline of decency and protection. Privileges, in contrast, are inherently exclusive. They are the advantages, exemptions, and comforts that come from special access or elevated standing. H. L. Mencken argues that, despite the rhetoric surrounding rights, it is privileges that truly capture human desire and energy.

Privileges distinguish one person from another. They confer status, separate the insiders from the outsiders, and elevate some above the common mass. In everyday life, people may claim to fight for universal rights, but closer inspection often reveals a subtler ambition: to attain or maintain privileges that set them apart. Consider the battles over education, social standing, club memberships, or political power, these are rarely about extending rights universally, but about preserving distinctions, access, or advantages for a particular group.

This human preoccupation with privilege manifests in many forms. Workplace hierarchies, titles, unspoken codes, and ceremonies are just a few rituals that reinforce and symbolize these privileges. Even the fight for rights, sometimes, is cloaked ambition: groups may demand their fair share of privileges enjoyed by others, rather than a systemic dismantling of privilege itself.

Rights provide a floor; privileges create the ceiling. Many people are content with the basic entitlements, but their aspirations point upward, toward the perks they see enjoyed by the fortunate. This pursuit is not necessarily a flaw but an element of human nature, stemming from the desire for recognition, security, and self-worth. Privileges, by their rarity, amplify these emotions; their possession signals success and approval from society. Mencken’s observation reveals a paradox: the universal rhetoric of rights often masks a distinctly individual craving for privileges, status, and differentiation.