Comment by icebraining

> If you surrender the concept of natural rights, you lose all of your negotiating power, as citizens.

That's not true; under the constitution of my country, which is a republic, rights are based on the sovereignty of the people.

A more relevant issue is: does it matter? My country didn't transition from a monarchy to a republic because the king was convinced by strong reasoning to abdicate; there was a coup d'état, and he was forced into exile.