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Originally Posted by Sen
I agree. My question is for those who don't believe in a higher power. How do they determine what is right and wrong if not by the voice of the majority?
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We have several basic rights, you could call them "basic human rights" if you want:
The right to not be killed or harmed
The right to be personal privacy
The right to own private property
The right to be free from intimidation or coercion
It is not ethically justifiable for the majority to impose its will upon the minority in violation of those rights. A right is a social contract which guarantees that the majority will respect the minority in regard to that issue. The only justification for violating one of another person's rights is to protect your own rights from an unprovoked attempt to violate your rights. Therefore it is acceptable to kill in self-defense, or to strike back if you are about to be harmed, but it is not acceptable for the majority of people to kill you just because you do not agree with them politically, or they feelt that they are superior to you (i.e. Nazism/Fascism.)