1. There is an undeniable value to every human life.
All war is a crime against human life. “Human” life is defined by its distinctly human quality, and thus euthanasia and early abortion would be acceptable only if they did not destroy that human quality of life.
2. Every human life must be given adequate opportunity to develop.
Is it right that humans enter life with vastly different opportunities before them? Currently some are born rich, some poor. Humans are diverse and vary greatly in traits and talents; all must be given sufficient opportunity to develop their unique talents. It is natural that results will vary, with some being more successful than others. There continues to be a basic value and protection of every human life, including those lives which are less successful.
Inherited wealth, passed from those who are dead to the living who have not earned it, is a crime against the value of human life. Those who have earned goods justly, deserve them. Period.
3. The natural world is a gift to all humanity and thus individual humans can not “own” it, to do with as they wish.
Humans cannot own or inherit the natural world. It is a gift we neither earned nor did anything to deserve. Individual humans cannot control the use of the water or the air or the land. Accumulations of land, minerals, forests, water and their immediate derivatives, beyond what is sufficient for one’s personal needs, is a crime against humanity and nature All humans have a right to personal property, a private life, safety, education, and health care. Property that is strictly personal property and not income producing, can be inherited.
These three basic values are a vision for the future and not a political or sociological blueprint for how they might occur. Human values require that we look ahead not in terms of years or decades or even lifetimes, but for centuries.