 In the "three generations" account of human rights, negative rights are often associated with the first generation of rights, while positive rights are associated with the second and third generations.Some philosophers (see criticisms) disagree that the negative-positive rights distinction is useful or valid.Under the theory of positive and negative rights, a negative right is a right "not to be" subjected to an action of another person or group—a government, for example—usually in the form of abuse or coercion.