Critical theory and human rights: From compassion to coercion (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)

This book describes how human rights have given rise to a vision of benevolent governance that, if fully realised, would be antithetical to individual freedom. It describes human rights’ evolution into a grand but nebulous project, rooted in compassion, with the overarching aim of improving universal welfare by defining the conditions of human well-being and imposing obligations on the state and other actors to realise them. This gives rise to a form of managerialism, preoccupied with measuring and improving the ‘human rights performance’ of the state, businesses and so on. The ultimate result is the ‘governmentalisation’ of a pastoral form of global human rights governance, in which power is exercised for the general good, moulded by a complex regulatory sphere which shapes the field of action for the individual at every turn. This, unsurprisingly, does not appeal to rights-holders themselves. "This book describes how human rights have given rise to a vision of benevolent governance that, if fully realised, would be antithetical to individual freedom. It shows that contemporary human rights practice is increasingly managerial in nature, with the focus shifting from the individual rights-holder to the activities of the duty-bearer, be it the state, international organisations, or business. The result is a preoccupation with achieving measured improvements within abstract groups such as the population or 'stakeholders,' while the individual rights-holder becomes relevant only as a datapoint in a larger grouping. Analysing this trend and its consequences, the book describes human rights' evolution into a grand but nebulous project, rooted in compassion, with the overarching aim of improving universal welfare by defining the conditions of human well-being and imposing obligations on the state and other actors to realise them. The ultimate result is the 'governmentalisation' of a pastoral form of global human rights governance, in which power is exercised for the general good, moulded by a complex regulatory sphere which shapes the field of action for the individual at every turn. It is unsurprising that this alienating discourse has failed to capture the popular imagination. The book concludes that if the human rights movement is to succeed it may be necessary for it to do less rather than more."--Back cover "Describing this phenomenon and analysing its effects require us to look beyond the traditional sphere of critique. ... This book finds it in the political and moral philosophy of Michael Oakeshott ... . Oakeshott's critique ... of the modern understanding of the relationship between law, morality, and the State is a rich seam to mine for analytical tools for conceptualising developments in the field of human rights."--Page 7 This book describes the evolution of the human rights movement into a grand managerial project, rooted in compassion, with the aim of improving universal welfare by defining the conditions of human well-being and imposing obligations on the state and other actors to realise them. It argues that this is ultimately antagonistic to individual freedom. -- .