Rights and Justice
Definition
Rights
Rights are entitlements or freedoms that individuals or groups possess, often protected by law or moral principles.
Definition
Justice
Justice refers to the fair and equitable distribution of resources, opportunities, and punishments within a society.
Theoretical Perspectives
Liberalism
- Focus: Individual rights and freedoms
- Key Thinkers: John Locke, John Rawls
- Principles:
- Natural Rights: Life, liberty, and property (Locke)
- Justice as Fairness: Equal basic rights and opportunities (Rawls)
Example
- UDHR and Liberalism
- The UDHR reflects liberal values by prioritizing individual rights and limited government.
- Key rights include freedom of speech (Art. 19), religious freedom (Art. 18), and equality before the law (Art. 7).
- Promotes universal, inalienable rights, central to liberal thought.
Utilitarianism
- Focus: Maximizing overall happiness or utility
- Key Thinkers: Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill
- Principles:
- Rights are justified if they contribute to the greatest good for the greatest number.
- Justice is measured by outcomes, not intentions.
Note
- Utilitarianism prioritizes actions that maximize overall happiness or utility, even if it means sacrificing individual rights.
- Highlights a key tension: collective welfare vs. individual liberty.
- Contrasts with liberalism, which sees certain rights as inviolable, regardless of outcomes.
Example
- In a public health crisis, authorities may forcibly quarantine an individual to prevent disease spread, violating their freedom of movement to protect the greater good.
Marxism
- Focus: Class struggle and economic equality
- Key Thinkers: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
- Principles:
- Rights are seen as tools of the ruling class to maintain power.
- Justice requires the abolition of class structures and the redistribution of resources.
Example
- Marxists argue capitalist systems prioritize property rights over economic and social equality.
- Claim rights under capitalism serve the elite, masking deep class inequality.
- True freedom, they argue, requires redistribution and economic justice.
- Example: In housing crises, enforcing landlords’ property rights can lead to evictions, denying the poor their right to shelter.
Feminism
- Focus: Gender equality and intersectionality
- Key Thinkers: Simone de Beauvoir, bell hooks
- Principles:
- Rights and justice must address systemic gender inequalities.
- Intersectional feminism considers how race, class, and other identities intersect with gender.
Note
- Feminist theorists argue that traditional human rights frameworks often exclude women’s lived experiences, especially in the private sphere (e.g. home, family).
Example
- Domestic violence was long ignored as a human rights issue until instruments like CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) pushed states to address it as a systemic violation of women’s rights in 1981.
Postcolonialism
- Focus: Decolonization and global justice
- Key Thinkers: Frantz Fanon, Edward Said
- Principles:
- Critiques Western-centric notions of rights and justice.
- Emphasizes the importance of cultural context and historical legacies of colonialism.
Example
- Postcolonial theorists argue that international human rights frameworks often reflect Western liberal values, prioritizing individualism, secularism, and legalism.
- Many indigenous communities (e.g. in Canada or Australia) have struggled to have their land and cultural rights recognized under international law, which often lacks mechanisms to protect collective and ancestral claims.
Analyzing Rights and Justice in Practice
- Balancing Individual and Collective Rights
- Example: The debate over privacy rights versus national security
- Analysis: Liberalism prioritizes individual privacy, while utilitarianism may justify surveillance for collective safety.
- Economic Justice and Inequality
- Example: Progressive taxation and welfare policies
- Analysis: Marxism supports redistribution to achieve economic justice, while liberalism focuses on equal opportunities.
- Gender and Intersectionality
- Example: Gender pay gap and reproductive rights
- Analysis: Feminism highlights systemic inequalities, advocating for policies that address multiple forms of discrimination.
- Global Justice and Human Rights
- Example: Climate change and environmental justice
- Analysis: Postcolonialism emphasizes the disproportionate impact on developing countries, calling for equitable solutions.
Tip
- When analyzing rights and justice, consider how different theoretical perspectives prioritize individual versus collective interests, and how they address issues of power and inequality.
Self review
- How do different theories of rights and justice apply to contemporary global issues like climate change or migration?
- What are the limitations of each theoretical perspective in addressing complex, real-world challenges?
- How do cultural and historical contexts shape our understanding of rights and justice?
