The Idea of Human Rights
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The international doctrine of human rights is one of the most ambitious parts of the settlement of World War II. Since then, the language of human rights has become the common language of social criticism in global political life. This book is a theoretical examination of the central idea of that language, the idea of a human right. In contrast to more conventional philosophical studies, Charles Beitz takes a practical approach, looking at the history and political practice of human rights for guidance in understanding the central idea. Betiz presents a model of human rights as matters of international concern whose violation by governments can justify international protective and restorative action ranging from intervention to assistance. He proposes a schema for justifying human rights and applies it to several controversial cases--rights against poverty, rights to democracy, and the human rights of women.Throughout, The Idea of Human Rights attends to some main reasons why people are skeptical about human rights, including the fear that human rights will be used by strong powers to advance their national interests. The book concludes by observing that contemporary human rights practice is vulnerable to several pathologies and argues the need for international collaboration to avoid them.
Features
- An important and powerful new statement on a key topic
- Written by one of the world's leading political philosophers
- Elegantly and persuasively argued
Reviews
"The author is successful in his goal of proposing an alternative perspective on human rights which seeks to reconcile the disjuncture between theory and practice...This is an innovative, well-argued and well-written text which makes a useful contribution to the political theory of human rights."--Political Studies Review
About the Author(s)
Charles R. Beitz is Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He has written books and articles in global political theory (Political Theory and International Relations) and democratic theory (Political Equality) and is co-editor, with Robert Goodin, of Global Basic Rights (OUP 2009). He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
