Most people intuitively agree with this concept. Indeed, suggesting otherwise would likely provoke suspicion and, if acted upon, condemnation. A person who justifies their actions solely on their power or strength would be seen as a bad actor and avoided by others.

Yet this simple saying can tell us a lot more than just how we should act in our personal affairs and it contains useful truths for how a free or libertarian society can function in reality. After all, the use of the term "right" within the phrase implies the existence of an objective morality—an ethical framework independent of the power dynamics in any given conflict. This concept of objective morality serves as an important foundation for understanding justice, fairness, and what type of culture and institutions are needed to bring about and sustain free societies.

The Role of Might in Achieving Right
First, some clarification is needed. While "might does not make right" is a noble principle, real-world conflicts often reveal that right still requires might to prevail. If one party aggresses against another, the victimized party must still control sufficient resources—whether material, institutional, or communal—to enforce their claim. Moral justification alone does not necessarily compel aggressors to cease their actions or make amends.

Indeed, the benefit of a free society is not that it removes the need for might—libertarians are not utopians—but rather that it makes might more accessible to those who deserve it and less accessible to those that do not. Imagine a society where disputes are resolved purely by might, without any appeal to morality. In such a society, the aggrieved party would always need overwhelming strength to secure justice, something not every aggrieved party may happen to have. Now consider a society that values morality. The victim still needs resources to enforce their claims. The difference lies in the support systems available: a society that upholds moral principles allows the use of institutional mechanisms—such as courts and enforcement agencies—to support the just party, while depriving the aggressor of such advantages.

Thus, while might does not justify actions, it is generally necessary to translate moral right into practical reality.

Institutions for Justice in a Free Society
In our world, purposeful actors make use of scarce resources, including their own bodies and other property they have a claim to. Conflicts arise when individuals or groups dispute claims over these resources. Laws, therefore, exist to provide rules for resolving such disputes in a morally correct manner.

According to the 13th-century theologian and philosopher, Thomas Aquinas, the virtue of justice lies in "rendering to others what is due to them." For laws to be just, they must align with objective moral standards, presupposing that rightness or goodness is discoverable. Without the existence of objective morality, no resolution could be deemed universally preferable, essentially leaving all dispute resolutions ambiguous and leaving society to an unsatisfactory "might makes right" paradigm.