From human rights to human dignity

Abstract

AbstractAbstractMainstream human rights ideas that most of us are familiar with today evolved from the European Enlightenment and the secularization of thought and society of the last 150 years. These ideas have contributed significantly to human civilization in at least four ways. One, they have endowed the individual with certain basic rights such as the right of free speech, the right of association, the right to a fair trial, and so on. Two, they have strengthened the position of the ordinary citizen against the arbitrariness of power. Three, they have expanded the space and scope for individual participation in public decision-making. Four, they have forced the state and authority in general to be accountable to the public. Additional informationNotes on contributorsChandra MuzaffarThis article is a slightly modified version of a paper with the same title presented at the International Conference on Rethinking Human Rights, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 6-7 Dec. 1994.