By viewing liberty as the power that people have over themselves, Grotius distinguished between a person’s ability to do something and their freedom from constraints. Since man has a right to life and property, Grotius argued, he is also granted the powers to take the necessary action to fulfill those rights. The state does not have legitimate superior authority in such circumstances. Thus, by connecting rights with the individual, the concept of individual freedom, or liberty, becomes more than just a question of free will. It also includes the freedom to act without constraints. This focus on human agency marked a clear break from the thinking of earlier times.

  Grotius regarded rights as abilities or powers possessed by individuals, and his philosophy also allowed for the commodification of rights. Rights could be “traded” with, for example, a sovereign. In this case, the power of the state would come from the voluntary transfer of rights by individuals. Grotius distinguished between two classes of relations. Relations of unequals could be between “Parents and Children, Masters and Servants, King and Subject,” while relations between “Brothers, Citizens, Friends, and Allies” were relations of equals.

  Grotius’s idea that people are natural bearers of rights has become a cornerstone for the theory of liberalism. However, his belief that some people have a right to superiority is surely not in line with more liberal, modern thinking.

Freedom of the seas was considered by Grotius to be a natural right, and he used this belief to justify the Regular>Dutch East India fleet breaking the monopolies set up by other nations.