To understand the difference between natural rights and civil rights, we must know the difference between common law and civil (commercial/Roman) law; the first is derived from nature while the latter is derived from legislature. Common law is for self-governing, while civil law is for the governed. Civil rights are merely privileges granted by a legislating body, are subjective, and are therefore revocable, but natural rights are derived from nature, are inherently objective, and are therefore irrevocable. This nuance is important, as rights are based on the form of law that they draw from. Leftists push civil law, which is essentially Statism, and focuses on the civil rights of the collective, while Classical Liberalism, the kind put forth by John Locke in his papers, is based in nature and common law, and focuses on the natural rights of the individual.
