A Quote From Hayek

Given recent events, It has been difficult to find time to create a new post.  However, I do have some now.  Since classes have ended I have been reading a book titled "The Road to Serfdom" by F.A. Hayek.  In it there is a quote which says, "But to call private property as such, which all can acquire under the same rules, a privilege, because only some succeed in acquiring it, is depriving the word 'privilege' of its meaning."  This quote struck me and I began to wonder whether or not healthcare was really a privilege or indeed a right.  I began thinking about the quote in the Declaration of Independence that says, "that they[men] are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."  Indeed Life is a right.  You have a right to your life and not to be deprived thereof by another individual.  You also have a right to Property which would be included in the idea of liberty and the pursuit of happiness which is later specified in the U.S. constitution.  Now, what about healthcare?  Is healthcare a right?  By the definition of privilege above, I certainly wouldn't call it a privilege.  Nor would I call healthcare a right.  Healthcare is similar to property in the sense that all may acquire it but not all will, except that all will be treated if need be in the healthcare industry even if they don't have insurance.  The word privilege applies to congressmen who receive health benefits through their elected position.  It is a privilege to be elected by the people to receive those benefits through that office which elected.  It is not a privilege for any individual to receive healthcare benefits for free and nor is it a right.  It is, rather, a result.  

It is a result of the three things every American is guaranteed which were previously cited from the Declaration of Independence.  Without Liberty, property cannot exist, and without property, a pursuit of happiness cannot ensue for any individual.  Health Insurance would fall under the category of a property and is therefore accessible to all American citizens.  To say that healthcare or health insurance is a right IS depriving the word property of ITS' meaning and therefore once taken away by the government, it can just as easily be taken away all together.