Prolegomena to any philosophical defense of human rights -- The maximalist challenge to human rights justification -- An enforcement-centered approach to human rights with special reference to John Rawls -- Consensus-based approaches to human rights -- The capability approach to human rights -- Grounding human rights in a pluralist world
Summary
In 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which declared that every human being, without "distinction of any kind," possesses a set of morally authoritative rights and fundamental freedoms that ought to be socially guaranteed. Since that time, human rights have arguably become the cross-cultural moral concept and evaluative tool to measure the performance -- and even legitimacy -- of domestic regimes. Yet questions remain that challenge their universal validity and theoretical bases. Some theorists are "maximalist."
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-224) and index