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Title: what do you understand by human rights? Discuss the relevance of social contract theories in the making of ideas of human rights?
Abstract:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone also has the right to life, liberty and security of personal resources. But in our world here is a separation based on region, race, color, sex, height, and so on among the human beings. From generation to generation humans are fighting for establishing their rights in different ways. In different time scholars people were trying to remove this difference by proposing different theories like social contract. They try to established democratic system like democratic government, where everyone has equal rights. According to social contract theory morality consists in the set of rules governing behavior, which rational people would accept, on the condition that others accept them as well. Social contract theories elevate the possibilities that the need for social order and certain natural restriction might give us with a natural basis for morality. It talks about equity of need, equality of power, limited altruism, scarcity of resources and also its distribution process and so on which are related to human rights. It also talks about human’s life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. From very beginning of civilization social contract theory apply to give protection of life and property that means to protect prohibitions in opposition to murder, physical attack, robbery damage, security of society against external fear those all are terms of human rights. It might look like that there are strong social incentives for social revolution without an external objective resources of morality. According to some philosophers like Thomas Hobbes the incentive is built into the social system by the environment of our presented among our self. This need as expected exists for us to form some sort of contract to treat each other with basic value and follow certain rules and regulation. We find this value and contract as most advantageous to form a social contract to base our lives in all-purpose and our moral judgments. Still people are fighting to get those value and rights against the high society’s people who always dominate lower class people.
Keywords: Human rights, Social contract, Scarcity of resources, Security of society,Implications of social contract theory, lack of social contract.
Introduction:
The universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1944 did not emerge from a vacuum. It was presented as the latest in a series of acts, covenants and declarations aimed at securing certain rights for citizens in various countries. In different time people face various problem about their rights and the philosophers introduce variety of concepts about their rights to remove their problem. One of them is social contract theory. The concept of social contract comes from Socrates which is described by Plato in Crito. Social contract theories originating at the time of enlightenment on the view point that person’s moral or political obligations are dependent upon a agreement or contract along with them to form the civilization in which they can survive. In different time different theories are established. First theory established by Thomas Hobbes and his theory holds that in initial history people live in a state of nature. On that time no government or administration was presented. By agreeing with one another to make a state by contract, men within a given area joined together, each surrendering personal liberty as required to promote the safety and well being of all. By this contract the members created a government. The social contract gives civil rights and responsibilities to both the public and the administration.<href=”#_ftn1″ name=”_ftnref1″ title=””>[1] However, social contract theory is rightly associated with modern moral and political theory and is given its first full exposition and defense by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). After Hobbes (1651), John Locke (1689) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1789) are the best known philosophers of this extremely significant theory, which has been one of the most leading theories within moral and political theory throughout the history of the modern West.<href=”#_ftn2″ name=”_ftnref2″ title=””>[2] In the twentieth century, John Rawls’ Kantian give the moral and political theory as philosophical momentum by his version of social contract theory, and which was followed by news analyses of the subject by David Gauthier and others. All of them are talking about equality of need, rough equality of power, limited altruism, and scarcity of resources etc. which are extremely related with today’s human rights concept. More recently, philosophers from diverse perspective have offered new criticism of social contract theories. In particular, feminists and race-conscious philosophers have argued that social contract theory is at least an incomplete picture of our moral and political lives, and may in fact camouflage some of the ways in which the contract is itself parasitical upon the subjugations of classes of persons.
Human Rights:
Human + Rights= Human Rights that means rights u have simply because of a part of the Homo sapiens species. It indicates the basic rights and freedoms which are fundamental for living and for common people’s existence. It also includes the rights to life and liberty, freedom of thinking and expression, and equality before the law.All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights but they can’t live free in this world. High society’s people use them for their benefits and make a boundary for their live and activities. Generations to generation people are fighting to get their rights. The main theme of Human rights is no discrimination shall be made based on nationality, sexual characteristics, place of habitation, ethnic or national origin, color, belief, verbal communication, or any other national status. Every human are equally entitled to human rights with no discrimination. All these rights are indivisible, interconnected, and mutually supporting.Simply human rights means the basic rights that are available to every person like right to earn money, being free, express one’s self culturally and otherwise.
Human rights can be classified in different ways like-
1. Civil and Political Rights -Civil and political rights are rights which protect individuals’ freedom from unjustifiable behave by administration and private organizations and make sure one’s ability to take part in the civil and political activities of the state with no discrimination
2. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights-On the other hand, economic, social and cultural rights indicates rights that are recognized and protected in international and regional human rights instrument like right to education, right to housing, right to adequate standard of living, right to work, right to live with dignity and also right to health.
“Human right is not a thing but a concept, a way of thinking and making claims about certain events. These claims derive from morals rules and are expressed in legal terms or United Nations dialect. name From the very beginning human rights have always been very notorious. From the time when the presented of mankind rulers have always set up several mixture of human rights to control their inhabitant or to give them the liberty they needed. But not at all has freedom has enjoyed that much as in today’s western ethnicity. The statement of human rights tries to give everyone equal rights no matter what belief, heritage or society they have. Finally, on 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot (Paris) by the United Nations general assembly the universal human rights was declared which consists of 30 articles which have been detailed in consequent global treaties, regional human rights mechanism, national constitutions and laws.
Relevance of Social Contract Theories in the Making of Human Rights Ideas:
The world contains inequalities that are morally alarming the gap between richer and poorer. The chance of being born in one nation rather than another pervasively determines the life chances of every child who is born. The idea of social contract comes from Socrates which is described by Plato in Crito. Socrates’ life and the way in which that life has flourished in Athens are each dependent upon the Laws. However, this bonding among general public and the Laws of the country are not persuade. Citizens, once they have adult, and have seen how the city conducts itself, than they can choose whether to go away, taking their assets with them, or settle.
According to social contract theory “morality consists in the set of rules governing behavior that rational people would accept, on the condition that others accept them as well.” (Rachels, p. 145)
a. State of Nature
According to Thomas Hobbes explain state of nature as a nation in which there are no administrative institutions – no police force, no forces, no judges, etc<href=”#_ftn10″ name=”_ftnref10″ title=””>[10]. In a “state of nature”, there are no social goods like farming, industry, education, housing, technology etc. because the social cooperation needed to produce these things doesn’t exist.
In addition, four basic facts of human life as are important aspects of a state of nature:
· Equality of need -human has necessarily the same vital needs, such as shelter, food etc.
· Rough equality of power -while a number of people are rather stronger or extra powerful than other people, no individual is so much more influential as to be unbeatable – others could join to control them;
· Limited altruism -Hobbes assumed that community are normally or mostly selfish, in the sense that they generally act from self-regarding motives;
· Scarcity of resources -frequently the supply of the resources essential to meet up people’s needs is not enough – there is not enough of a resource to go around.
If these four factors are combined with the lack of government organization, as they are in a state of nature, the results are very unfavorable. Hobbes describes life in a state of nature as “nasty, brutish, and short”. a “war of all against all” in which each person competes for limited resources to assemble their own requirements.
b. Democratic Revolutions:
Locke’s (1632-1704) arguments for the social contract and for the right of citizens to revolt against their king were enormously influential on the democratic revolution which is related to the article of universal human rights declarations. ‘‘The State of environment, the natural situation of mankind, is a state of ideal and overall freedom to carry out one’s life as one best sees fit, free from the intervention of others. It does not mean that it is a state of license: one is not free to do everything at all one delight, or yet everything that one judges to be in one’s profit. The condition of Nature, while a state where there is no civil power or administration to punish people for misbehave in opposition to laws, is not a state without ethics.’’Like Hobbes, he also said that human nature permits men to be selfish. All human had right to protect his “Life, health, Liberty, or Possessions”.Intellectual suggest the slogan “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” in the American announcement of liberty.
c. Right to Standard of Living Adequate for Health and well being:
With the well-known idiom, “man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains,” Rousseau state that modern nations wants the substantial freedom that is our inheritance, and do nothing to secure the civil freedom for the sake of which we go into social culture.[16] Valid political administration, he recommend, comes only from a social contract approval upon by all citizens for their joint protection. Basically Rousseau has two separate social contract theories. Earliest one is about “ Discourse on the Origin and Foundation of Inequality Among Men ’’ usually referred to as the next discussion and is an report of the ethical and political development of human beings over time, from a state of environment to modern society. The second one is his ‘normative or idealized theory of the social contract ’. It meant to provide the means by which to improve the troubles that modern culture has created for us, as laid out in the next discussion.
d. Distribution of Natural Assets & Justice:
Rawls think differently about social contract from that of preceding scholar. Specifically, Rawls claims are principles of integrity all the way through the utilize of an synthetic device he calls the ‘’Original position’’ in which every person can make a decision ethics of justice from behind a cover of unawareness.<href=”#_ftn18″ name=”_ftnref18″ title=””>[18] According to John Rawls’
“no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status, nor does anyone know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence, strength, and the like. I shall even assume that the parties do not know their conceptions of the good or their special psychological propensities. The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance.”
Implications of Social Contract Theory:
Think that human were alive in a “state of nature” as Hobbes describes. Every person has an concern in getting out of this condition.Now, suppose that everybody make a agreement with each other leading how human are to care for each other. The plan of the agreement is to generate societal regulation, at the end of the state of nature and building it feasible for human to help and create social goods. In terms for the agreement to greatest achieve its aims, it is significant that everybody, or almost everyone, to be party to the agreement otherwise they have civil war. The Basics – these are things that are necessary for the survival of any society.
Ø Protection of life and property that means there will be prohibitions in opposition to murder, physical attack, robbery and damage. A strong police force will be needed and this force don’t miss use their power.
Ø Social contract theory can clarify why we delight those who break the policy as criminals. “Thus, when someone violates the condition of reciprocity, he releases us, at least to some extent, from our obligation toward him.”
Ø Different rules are required to protect the profit of social source of revenue. That indicates that there will be prevention on flouting promises and a universal obligation of truth-telling.
Ø Security of society against external fear. An defense force might be required.
Concept of Civil Rights:
Every human have some basic rights according to a member of homo sapience species. They get this right by born-those are freedom of speech, religion, freedom from arbitrary discrimination based on race, gender, etc., safety of the atmosphere. Clearly, it is in everybody’s interest to have breathable air and a fresh, healthy atmosphere in where they survive. Prevention against harm of the atmosphere or maintain it as personal assets seems to be in organize. How widespread is this, although, is uncertain. Moreover, the self-interested explanation for ecology does essentially cover defending endangered group or everything that is only of notice to some public.
Does Social Contract Theory Justify the Creation of a Social “Safety Net”?
Those people who are fine have no require of benefit, community education, and administrative support in general. So, it is not in the interests of these people to give taxes in order to maintain government administrative assistance. But the social contract work for every member’s interest in the society. That’s why; traditional social contract theorists sometimes agree that a social security is not part of the agreement. We can see two types of react to this case. One is some governmental activities are in everybody’s benefits and another one is the assets that human have now depends on the continuation of society.
Conclusion:
Contemporary Western society is the grip of contractual thinking. Contractual models have come to inform a vast variety of relations and interaction between person to person. It would be difficult to overestimate the effects of social contract theories to establishing human rights both with in philosophy and on the overall culture. Social contract theory undoubtedly with us from the very beginning of civilization and it has a great the longstanding and widespread impact to introducing human rights in our society but in some case like women’s subordination to men, Sexual Contract, liberal individual etc. it has no proper impact. Bu critiques of such theory, which will continue to oblige us to feel and rethink about the character of both ourselves and our relations with one another.
References
Ankerl, Guy. Towards a Social Contract on a Worldwide Scale: Solidarity contracts. Research series. Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies [Pamphlet], 1980, ISBN 92-9014-165-4.
Braybrooke, David. 1976. “The Insoluble Problem of the Social Contract.” Dialogue Vol. XV, No. 1: 3-37.
Human Rights.(n.d.). The free dictionary by Farlex. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/human+rights
Human rights essay. Retrieved from http://www.markedbyteachers.com/university-degree/law
Hobbes, Thomas. 1651a. Leviathan. C.B Macpherson (Editor). London: Penguin Books (1985)
Leckie,Scott; Gallanger, Anne (2006). Economic, social and cultural rights: a legal resource guide. University of Pennsylvania press. pp. xiv. ISBN 978-0-8122-3916-4
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration. Yale University Press (2003).
Locke,John (1960).[[Second Treatise of Government]](10th ed.). project Gutenberg. Retrieved 25 march 2012.
Mills, Charles. 1997. The Racial Contract. Cornell University Press.
Piker, A. (2010, February 01). Social Contract Theory Summary. Retrieved from http://philosophy.tamucc.edu/reading/professional-ethics/social-contract-theory-summary
Plato. Five Dialogues. (Trans. G.M.A. Grube) Hackett Publishing Company (1981).
Rousseau ,J. The social contract. Retrieved from http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/r/rousseau/jean_jacques/r864/index.html.Last updated Monday, November 12, 2012 at 13:59
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Basic Political Writings. (Trans. Donald A. Cress) Hackett Publishing Company (1987).
Rawls, Justice as Fairness: a Restatement, p. 97.
Rawls, p.53 revised edition; p.60 old 1971 first edition
Riley, Patrick. The Social Contract and Its Critics, chapter 12 in The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought. Eds. Mark Goldie and Robert Wokler. Vol 4 of The Cambridge History of Political Thought. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. 347–375
Social contract theory (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont
Social Contract Theory (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/ethics/sct.htm
Sandel, Michael. 1982. Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
United Nations Human Rights. . Retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx
Zuckert, Michael (1996). The Natural Rights Republic. Notre Dame University Press. pp. 73–85.
Words- 3,311 (with reference and abstract)
Riley, Patrick. The Social Contract and Its Critics, chapter 12 in The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought. Eds. Mark Goldie and Robert Wokler. Vol 4 of The Cambridge History of Political Thought. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. 347–375
Ankerl, Guy. Towards a Social Contract on a Worldwide Scale: Solidarity contracts. Research series. Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies [Pamphlet], 1980, ISBN 92-9014-165-4.
Social Contract Theory (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/
Human Rights. (n.d.). The free dictionary by Farlex. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/human+rights
United Nations Human Rights. . Retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx
Leckie, Scott; Gallanger, Anne (2006). Economic, social and cultural rights: a legal resource guide. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. xiv. ISBN 978-0-8122-3916-4
Human rights essay. Retrieved from
http://www.markedbyteachers.com/university-degree/law
Plato. Five Dialogues. (Trans. G.M.A. Grube) Hackett Publishing Company (1981).
Plato. Five Dialogues. (Trans. G.M.A. Grube) Hackett Publishing Company (1981).
Hobbes, Thomas. 1651a. Leviathan. C.B Macpherson (Editor). London: Penguin Books (1985)
Social Contract Theory (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/ethics/sct.htm
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/ethics/sct.htm
Piker,A. (2010, February 01). Social Contract Theory Summary. Retrieved from http://philosophy.tamucc.edu/readings/professional-ethics/social-contract-theory-summary
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration. Yale University Press (2003).
Locke, John (1690). [[Second Treatise of Government]](10th ed.). Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 25 March 2012.Wikilink embedded in URL title
Zuckert, Michael (1996). The Natural Rights Republic. Notre Dame University Press. pp. 73–85.
Rousseau ,J. The social contract. Retrieved from http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/r/rousseau/jean_jacques/r864s/index.html
Last updated Monday, November 12, 2012 at 13:59
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Basic Political Writings. (Trans. Donald A. Cress) Hackett Publishing Company (1987).
Rawls, Justice as Fairness: a Restatement, p. 97.
Rawls, p.53 revised edition; p.60 old 1971 first edition
Social Contract Theory (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/ethics/sct.htm
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/ethics/sct.htm
Mills, Charles. 1997. The Racial Contract. Cornell University Press.
Sandel, Michael. 1982. Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Braybrooke, David. 1976. “The Insoluble Problem of the Social Contract.” Dialogue Vol. XV, No. 1: 3-37.