TP O'Mahony: Rights or responsibilities — how should social relationships work?

Franklin D Roosevelt: His ‘four freedoms’ speech still resonates today. Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Rights versus responsibilities — which should have priority or should they co-exist? And since the end of World War II has there been an imbalance in favour of rights, an imbalance that has segued into a distorted view of social relationships?

These questions have come into sharp focus following the recent Reith Lectures on BBC Radio 4, lectures that explored the implications for 21st century living of an important speech by an American president.