I have to admit that I am genuinely happy to be able to create these Carte Blanche pieces. They always give me the opportunity to take a step back from everyday life and reflect on issues that occupy my mind. Unfortunately, they are often subjects that frustrate or concern me, as is once again the case today with something I call the culture of entitlement. But what do I mean by that?
I am not talking about people who feel an overwhelming need to always be right. Nor am I referring to passionate defenders of human rights, animal rights or the rights of other living beings. What concerns me more is a growing tendency I encounter increasingly often: people from all walks of life claiming that they have a right to something specific. Whether it is people complaining rather inelegantly about cross-border workers supposedly “stealing” their right to employment, those claiming they do not receive enough money, or those protesting because they will not receive a mobility grant even though they had already planned to use it to buy a car, just like others did before them. And the list goes on.
I see two problems in this. On the one hand, many people confuse having “a right to” something with what they personally consider fair. On the other hand, some people have a very distorted understanding of what it actually means to have a right.
If my neighbour can afford a new car while I cannot, even though I work harder than he does, that may feel unfair, but it is certainly not unlawful. However, if one day my son were to receive a university grant while my daughter did not simply because she is a girl, that would not only be unfair — it would also be against the law.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, for example, exists to protect the rights of children and young people. These are fundamental rights that have been formally recognised and adopted. There are also numerous declarations of human rights, including the most famous one: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
From the right to life to the right to marry, and from the prohibition of slavery to the prohibition of discrimination, these texts contain many important principles intended to improve society as a whole. Within these frameworks, there are references to the right to education and the right to work, but nowhere does it state that people have the right to study at the most prestigious and expensive university, nor that holding a BAC+5 degree automatically entitles someone to a salary of 5,000 euros.
Of course, life can sometimes be unfair. But very often, we could simply accept that society evolves or, at worst, decide to change something about our own situation instead of believing that everything should automatically be handed to us on a silver platter.
Because when people talk about rights, many are far less eager to discuss obligations. Rights exist within a community, but within that community, everyone also has responsibilities and must contribute. But why am I telling you all this? Is it once again about criticising young people? Are young people really the ones setting a bad example? Or are we, once again, the ones failing to lead by example ourselves? I do not know. But something I recently heard from a minister is that every new generation tends to be criticised and demonised. What if we stopped doing that? What if, instead, we continued investing in young people so that together we could build a fairer society — one in which people no longer constantly feel the need to insist on their rights? That, to me, would feel right.
