Human Rights and the Age of Inequality
- Samuel Moyn
Samuel Moyn is Jeremiah Smith,
Jr. Professor of Law and Professor of History at Harvard University. In 2010,
he published The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History, and his most recent book
is Christian Human Rights. His areas of interest in legal scholarship include
international law, human rights, the law of war, and legal thought, in both historical
and current perspectives. In intellectual history, he has worked on a diverse
range of subjects, especially twentieth-century European moral and political
theory. He has written several books in his fields of European intellectual
history and human rights history. His book Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal
World (2018) is the most recent work. He is currently working on a new book on
the origins and significance of the humane war for Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Over the years he has written in venues such as Boston Review, the Chronicle of
Higher Education, Dissent, The Nation, The New Republic, the New York Times,
and The Wall Street Journal. In “Human Rights and the Age of Inequality,”
Samuel Moyn deals with the drastic mismatch between the egalitarian crisis and
the human rights remedy that demands not a substitute but a supplement. He
points out that the human rights regime and movement are simply not equipped to
challenge global inequalities.
• Summary:
This essay “Human Rights and the
Age of Inequality” has been written by an American writer Samuel Moyn. Here in
this essay, Samuel Moyn deals with the drastic mismatch between the egalitarian
crisis and the human rights remedy that demands not a substitute but a
supplement. He points out that the human rights regime and movement are simply
not equipped to challenge global inequalities.
The writer begins his essay with
a parable where he has presented an example of Croesus (the last king of Lydia
(reigned 560–546). According to the writer, Croesus was a very wealthy king who
considered himself the happiest of mortals. He wanted his citizens should be
happy and free from all kinds of suffering. But he had a problem, he did not
want to invest his money to eradicate the sufferings of his people. He had
collected a lot of wealth for himself but after being defeated, his whole
possession, as well as wealth, was controlled by the Persian king Cyrus the
Great and his army.
Later, the writer links this
situation of Croesus with the modern world where inequality exists and
available means and resources are unequally distributed. The writer says that every year 10th December
is celebrated as Human Rights Day, but no step has been taken for equal access
to rights and property between rich and poor in the world. There is only one solution to all these kinds
of obstacles as distributive equality but he feels that this is almost
impossible in practical life or reality.
The writer mentions writing the
history of human rights with that of political economy. Here, there is the
involvement of two big stages- The first was the heroic age of the national
welfare states after World War II. The second was the political economy
ascended beyond the nation during the 1940s. Franklin Roosevelt issued his
famous call for a “Second Bill of Rights” that included socio-economic security
in his State of the Union but it missed three most important facts: the entry
of a provincial US into the North Atlantic consensus; the promise of freedom from desire; And imagining it everywhere in the world.
Human rights suffered greatly
after the 1940s as it followed partisanship and divided the world into two
groups, referring to the democratic nations led by the US and the communist
nations led by the USSR, which resulted in the Cold War. Similarly, the disintegration of the world
during the post-war era could not bring about the desired development and human
rights among nations as these states favoured ‘national welfare’ instead of
supporting egalitarian human rights.
Samuel Moyn reflects on the issue
of whether or not another human rights movement is necessary and then
exemplifies the truth and reality described in Herodotus’ chronicles that deal
with the need for a redistribution of global socioeconomic justice under
pressure from the rich to the poor.
Although human rights activists
argue that human rights documents claim and assure equal freedoms and rights to
human beings, in reality, this does not apply in current real-life
situations. Unless this current economy
and socio-political structure exist, man will not have basic and useful
freedoms and true rights. Thus, a fair
share of the distribution of wealth and property from the rich to the poor,
redistribution of means and resources, law-making and enforcement of the fair
distribution of wealth by the government and egalitarian society requires
large-scale and radical movements.
However, all of these are impractical and inappropriate and very
difficult to happen in reality.
Above all, our common destiny is
like the world of Croesus, where the rich enjoy happiness, freedom and
everything to the maximum level like the colonists in the British Raj, while
the poor live in a world of illusion with their floating equality and
Independence.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. What is the first human rights declaration adopted by the United Nations?
Answer: The first human rights declaration adopted by
the United Nations is mobilization for economic and social rights.
b. When is Human Rights Day observed?
Answer: Human Rights Day is observed on 10th December
every year.
c. What is the goal of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
Answer: The goal of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights is to provide a list of the most basic entitlements or key values like
fairness, dignity, equality and respect that humans deserve thanks to being
human themselves. Furthermore, its aim is to assert the “ foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the in the world.”
d. What are two big stages that involve writing the history of human rights in relation to that of political economy?
Answer: The two big stages that involve writing the
history of human rights in relation to
that of political economy are:
1.
The heroic age of national welfare after World
War II.
2.
The bitter enemies of the new cold war era in
1948.
e. What are the facts that have been missed in Roosevelt’s call for a “second Bill of Rights”?
Answer: The facts that have been missed in Roosevelt’s
call for a “second Bill of Rights” are:
- First, it marked a characteristically provincial America’s Late and ginger entry into an already foreordained North Atlantic consensus.
- Second, his highest promise was not a floor of protection for the masses but the end of “special privileges for the few” - a ceiling on inequality.
- Lastly, Roosevelt certainly hoped it would span the globe but it was organized nationally, not internationally.
f. Write the truth expressed in Herodotus’s Histories.
Answer: The truth expressed in Herodotus’ Histories is
that global socio-economic justice, like local socio-economic justice, would
require redistribution under pressure from the rich to the poor by novel forms
of legal activism.
g. Why is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights important to you?
Answer: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
important to me as it works in favour of all human beings for their rights,
justice, equality and equity by removing partiality, injustice, inequality,
discrimination, and so on from society.
Reference to the Context
a. Does the essay give ways on how to stigmatize inequality? Explain.
Answer: The essay “Human Rights and the Age of
Inequality” don’t give some specific ways on how to stigmatize inequality but
it talks about the stigmatization of inequality. Most of all, history suggests
that they are the wrong kind of agent; not fearful enough to provoke
redistribution. If inequality grows like this, opponents will arise some days.
Therefore, it is better to maintain equality and justice in society. By forming
new sort of human rights movement for the sake of the common people, social
equality and liberation can be justified. Proper supervision and monitoring,
support of stakeholders, enacting strict laws, removing partiality and maintain
justice and equality etc. are necessary for the humanitarian behalf of the all
human beings. Inequality is believed to be as a stigma for the society as it
creates tussle and conflicts among the people so proper balance for it is
required.
b. Is another human rights movement necessary? Why?
Answer: Yes, another human rights movement is
necessary as the essayist finds Human Rights is functioning under political
suppression constrained in human affairs. He wishes to see another Human rights
movement in the coming days due to following reasons:
- People who are in powerful positions found violating the laws.
- Inequality has been contained in human affairs.
- Nepotism and favouritism is still in practice.
- Law is to be given top priority.
- Political and social hegemony is still prevalent in the world.
- Laws and rights are only documented rather it is not in practice.
- There is need of rights and justice for all human beings whether they are rich or poor, belong to upper class or lower class.
