the concept of "human rights"

[boxinghefner]

what do individuals here think of this fairly nebulous, wide-ranging concept? There are many groups here in the U.K. and elsewhere established to further the cause of 'human rights' - but what attitudes must Communists and Socialists take? Should we always support the 'human rights' of all citizens and the 'human rights' groups?

I suppose the obvious answer is that we must ask - human rights for who? To what end? But it raises some interesting questions about how we make that point - and how we see the concept.


thoughts welcomed!

Cheers

[MysticArcher]

I think your opening question answered the rest of your post; human rights as a term is too large and nebulous for us to say anything meaningful about

As anti-capitalists we all agree that the "right" to property is not a human right we support. On the other hand it's only rational to support the right to safety and the right to treated equally amongst people.

The easiest answer of course is that human rights should have a rational basis and be recognized as finite (in that rights conflict, for example the right of a capitalist to exploit contradicts the rights of people to not be exploited)

Also welcome to the board.

[Ander]

I think that all people, regardless of race, gender, orientation, etc, should have complete human rights until these rights begin to infringe upon the rights of others.

And I think that one thing governments needs to work on is to guarantee rights for all people who face discrimination in the legal system.

[Hegemonicretribution]

With regards to property rights, it is not the right that must be abolished, but the current concept of "property."

People can only argue for this problematic "right" whilst it property exists as a problematic concept. Where rights that are necessary conflict there will have to be a sollution, but that would depend very much upon the circumstance, and in this respect a dynamic society capable of dealing peacefully, and effectively with these conflicts will be necessary in a viable, free society.

[boxinghefner]

i'm quite fascinated by the origins of our understanding of 'human rights' - as we know them today. As you say - it is a nebulous, wide ranging thing - yet not to the extent that there do not exist specific organisations created to 'maintain' or 'support' such conepts. How such a discource arose (from a Marxist understanding) would be quite interesting.



As anti-capitalists we all agree that the "right" to property is not a human right we support. On the other hand it's only rational to support the right to safety and the right to treated equally amongst people. The easiest answer of course is that human rights should have a rational basis and be recognized as finite (in that rights conflict, for example the right of a capitalist to exploit contradicts the rights of people to not be exploited)

What rational basis can we understand for the rights Marxist should support? We must of course unite with the opressed (homosexuals, women and so forth) so in a sense the way in which we support rights changes `as society changes (dialectical support and understanding of conflict). It's interesting with regards to Marx's writings on the jewish question perhaps.

I suppose the main point is that Marxist-Leninists hope to establish the rule of the workers, to which the ruling class must be subordinate.


Also welcome to the board.

thanks

[More Fire for the People]

Lenin has a fairly well known saying on the issue of ‘freedom’ and ‘rights’ — “Freedom yes, but for whom? To do what?” Applied to the concept of human rights this is the freedom of humans to be human. The freedom of being human is universal access to products and resources and the ability to control one’s own life. Human rights can are found only in communism, as communism is the end of exploitation and alienation.

[drain.you]

a side note :
i've always thought that there should be human rights and human needs.
for instance, humans dont have a right to food, they need it and society should make certain that no-one can go without food, same with water and shelter.