In the narrower legal context, this Hayekian - Rawlsian debate usually manifests itself in arguments about whether the
law should protect «negative rights,» that is, protect persons from government encroachment on their inalienable rights — like private property and free exercise of religion, or whether the
law should foster «positive rights,» that is, promote the rights of people to
receive tangible things like free health care or housing
under the auspices of
equal treatment under the
law.