A right is the sanction of independent action. A right is that which can be
exercised without anyone’s permission.
If you exist only because society permits you to exist—you have no right to
your own life. A permission can be revoked at any time.
If, before undertaking some action, you must obtain the permission of
society—you are not free, whether such permission is granted to you or not.
Only a slave acts on permission. A permission is not a right.
Do not make the mistake, at this point, of thinking that a worker is a slave
and that he holds his job by his employer’s permission. He does not hold it by
permission—but by contract, that is, by a voluntary mutual agreement. A
worker can quit his job. A slave cannot.