Module III·Article III·~1 min read
Human Rights: Justification, Universalism, and Critique
Freedom, Power, and Rights
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What are human rights?
Human rights are the rights that every person possesses simply by virtue of being human, regardless of citizenship, culture, or law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) proclaimed: life, liberty, personal inviolability, protection from torture, equality before the law, freedom of thought, expression, association.
Three key justifications: natural rights (Locke: from God/nature); Kantian dignity (the human as an end, not a means); interest theory (rights protect fundamental interests).
Critique and responses
Relativism: human rights are a Western construct imposed on other cultures. Response: some violations—torture, genocide—are condemned within most cultures; the adoption of the UDHR included non-Western countries.
Asian values: priority of the collective over the individual, stability over liberties. Response: Amartya Sen showed that “Asian values” are a political construct of authoritarian regimes, not a cultural universal.
Question for reflection: Where do real conflicts of rights arise in your professional activities? How do you resolve them?
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