36. Care and Human Rights A Reply to Virginia Held 37. Human Rights in Kantian Mode A Sketch推荐.pdf

36 Care and Human Rights A Reply to Virginia Held Susan Mendus Virginia Held begins her thoughtful and engaging chapter by drawing attention to the progress which human rights have made in the last half century.1 She quotes Joseph Raz’s claim—‘this is a good time for human rights’—and she notes that human rights are now taken ‘very seriously not only by many theorists, but by activists pressing gov- ernments to improve all sorts of conditions, and by courts deciding cases’. ‘Charges of human rights violations have weight’ Held notes. They are taken seriously by govern- ments around the world; they can ‘cut reputations and influence, and actually affect actions and policies’. In short, human rights claims are very weighty and human rights violations are very serious. However, despite these positive opening comments, Held is, in the end, doubtful about the value of human rights as a way of addressing the most serious and pressing problems of the modern world. She notes the fragility of our alleged progress, par- ticularly in the area of social and economic (positive) rights, and asks ‘how much is achieved by declaring that all persons have rights to adequate food and health care and security and education’.2 More generally, she is concerned that an emphasis on rights and justice may come at the expense of other moral approaches, and she suggests that ‘a focus on the moral approaches of care would be suitable for dealing with many of the most serious problems facing the globe’s inhabitants. They might’ she says, ‘sup- plement or strengthen or perhaps even be more effective than the approach of human rights’.3 So, despite her initial acknowledgement of the importance of human rights, Held is, in the end, deeply doubtful about their power to assist us. On the negative side, she wonders whether they can