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A Negative right is a right, either moral or decreed by law, to not be subject to an action of another (usually abuse or coercion) so that restraint is incumbent upon another, as opposed to a positive right which is a right to be provided with something by the positive action of another. The former proscribes action, while the latter prescribes action.
One example of a negative right is the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which makes it unlawful for anyone to abridge the speech of another. A law that would require another to provide him with a microphone would codify a positive right.
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