Looking Beyond the Positive-Negative Rights Distinction: Analyzing Constitutional Rights According to their Nature, Effect, and Reach

The relatively short catalogue of rights recognized by the Constitution of the United States, coupled with their near exclusive articulation as political and civil rights of a negative character opposable only to state action, has substantially narrowed the scope of analysis as to the different features and manifestations of constitutional rights in general. This has led the debate amongst U.S. scholars to focus their attention to rights as a sometimes simplistic dichotomy between negative political rights on the one hand, and positive socioeconomic rights on the other, which are more typically found in modern, teleological constitutions. In this brief Article, I wish to challenge and transcend that narrow dichotomy and analyze the different variables applicable to constitutional rights, considering several interacting features.