1 The Paradoxical Origins of Human Rights Lynn Hunt Declarations of human rights always make universalstc claims that re Sound with brave confidence. I 1948, for example when the United Na tions (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Righs, it pro aimed thal “recognition of the inherent dignity and of dhe equal and inalienable rights ofall members ofthe human family is de foundation of Freedom, justice and peace the wv Yee dese confident clas west 2 eves of troubling paradoses Human rights are supposed vo be eer tnd universal engraved. a wee, human nature. But not evenane be- Tiers them to be inscribed in human nature, ad the notion ise of hu ‘nage has 3 distinct histor: entered nto politcal discourse only at certain mes ad in specie places. What i imagined wo be universal and Shove history tars oot to be cotingent and grounded in a pata his- ton. Does iis patadex undesmine ther valiiy? The paradoxes donot end witha exe elationship to history inthe ab surac. Human rights aso havea paradoxical relationship to the concrete histories of revolutions Rights, especially property rights havea Tong his tory inthe West, but they would never have become funn rights without revolutions. What poi theorists take tobe the chief dividing line be- Tween presently democracy and ttatanism—the guarantee of ind ‘vidual human rights—had it ongins In evolution. Although the dewelop- ment of lel tadtion of rights and socal contact heotes helped shape the concept of human ighs. without revolutions human rights would ‘ever have become a polical elit, Revolations—the supposed origins of ‘oulitaianism—aurn out to be the oii of human rights a wel To undestand dace parsons cies wo be clea about ie dfn ‘of man rights. Huan its depend.on thee eed assumptions: 1) thatUUndl 1774 ac leat, Americans drew on a mishmash of philosophleal, legal and historical arguments about Betis sights. As Beish aut Collopsed in 1774 and 1775, Americans came to consider themselves in Something ikea state of nature; they called convention to represent pop. lar wll and began drafting state constitutions that sometimes included bills of tights, Rights hed to be declared ne part ofthis uansition fom a State of nature back into il government. Thus the Declaration of Inde- pendence maintained “Ne hold these tats tobe se-evident that all zen are cveated equal that they ate endowed by their Creator with ex: inalienable ight that among dhese ae Le bent and the pursuit oThappiness” Rights would never have een declared a6 applicable to all then mnthout the revolutionary moment erated by the collapse of tad tional Bush authority, Everyone did not agree on the importance of de Clarng rights or om the content of dhe fights to be declared and a ates {amen to thatthe Bill of Right of the US. Constitution was not ratified ltl the end of 179%, Nevertheless. the revolutionary moment opened the door the declarations of rights? “the impact of revolution tseven more siking inthe French ase Because before 1789 french legal and philasophical commentary on igs did not fog the depth and vibrancy character ofthe British rights adiion Under the French monarchy, rights were a form of pile: individuals ad tights only insofar a they were members of socal networks or institutions (ihe nobility, a guild, acy a monastery, et) with legal sanding. As the Pasement (high cour) of Pais argued in 1776, [ie fist re of sie i to preserve for every man that belong to hm «ule that consists not tnly in maintaining the rights of propery, bu also in preserving right at {iched w dhe person and those which dei fromthe prerogatives of birth tnd este’ Despite, o perhaps because ofthis lack of a previous radtion ‘Sf natural rights, the french rewhlonares developed the most self onscously universalist conception of rights ever seen inthe wold at that, time: During the dscssion ofa declaration of rights in the opening day of the ench Revolution, one deputy exclaimed, “[The Americans] have seta rest example inthe new hemisphere; It ux give one tothe wnvere.” I ‘Rugust 1789 the deputies othe National Assembly declared, "Considering that ignorance, neglect or contempt ofthe #hts of man are the sole cases fof public misfortunes and governmental compton, [we] have resolved 10 ‘coh ina solemn dedataton the natal, nalenable and sacred igh ff man” they dectaced the rights ofall men, that is human sights Before 1749 mucha declaration was nconceable In Hance The impact ofthe declarations of nights inthe new Lite States and in France was immediate Itcan even be trace in Creat Britain where no rev ‘hiton occured. Aconding to the English short tte catalogue (ESIC) the rumise of ies that inclided some mention of rights steadily decined ‘The Pra Orn of Him Rigs > from the eaty 1700 tothe 17508 and then steal rose until the 1790s, when the number leally exploded, quadruplingin dhe 1790s compared to the 1780 or any ether decade in the eghicenth cencury Human tights had entered the discourse.” ‘THE ENLIGHTENMENT ORIGINS OF HUMAN RIGHTS The history ofthe forward evolutionary spun in ight shows that some thing happened ia the conception of rights between 1689 and 1776 to 189 totam them from the igh of pacar people, suchas tee tom English men” into universal natural ight the Pench di de Tome sighs of man}. Slenexpeially men and only later omen Ban to tall fervently abot une ghs in way haat es pid thet equal forall men, remembering tha ne coud mean ether ales ‘orhumankind eas hatorians have repeatedly cnphasicd these men ex luded'whele'teporie of people—saves,senanis the. properties ‘women, and at fit, religlour mnoriiesfrom this supposed equality Tow cal people hold such scemingly contactor viet Sich contradictions were umlnable inthe eighicenth century because te conception of righ of man as orignal apc (many would mie ‘hat human ight ae stl too vague) By the end af the ihe cenry ‘many French pole cmmentors, even supporter the monarchy Considered the existence of ntral ts to be elevidet ve though they wete hard peed to say ist what those ight ena. th te lp ‘ofthe American Rsoure Treasury ofthe French Language (ARTTL) Poet ‘online atthe University of Chicago and developed overt eas calla. ‘ation withthe National Center for Sint Research in Francis pos "Sle now fo trace the emergence of this ange ofthe sights of ma.” The ei use of ight of man that have found in ARTEL in ea Jacques Rosca cel Contra of 1762, Rigs had been used a aterm before but ne righs of man. Rights appeared relatively ttely in any form in the seventeenth century. Rights appeared in all Kinds of context The Fights of the chute, the rights ofthe tomb, the ight ofthe fat and indeed the righ ofthe church were dominant between 1600 and 1620. The most impetant predecessor to ght of man was natura ight or nat ual a (dt ate has both meanings i Pench), However droit na {ute didnot always mean natura aw o ight i the see of Gross or locke; itsemetimes meant simply making sense within the ational ot de Thus, fr example, Bshop Bossa spokesman for La XIV ab Solute monarchy, used natural right when descibing Jesus Chit’ ety { heaven (*he entered heave by his own tural night") Thoughout the eighteenth century natural right contin ta bee i hi context(as what was iting fora particular individual or group), but such usage paled nea to incteasing ne ofthe team to mean a ight given by nate Ein hence applicable to all me. ‘Denis Diderot article on droit natwrel in the Enelepedia (1755) called atention to the selfevidence of natural lw or night. “NATURAL {AW (RICITT. The use ofthis term iss familia that there is almost no fone who would not be convinced inside himself that she thing is obvi- busty known to him. This interior feeling is common both tothe philoso- het and to the man who has nt reflected a all" This bref quote goes Co the eat of the central paradox of human right: Belie in them rests fon their elfevidence which can only be proved by beie in them. The belietis nonetheless power for its tautological foundation: “There sal most no one who woud not be comvinced inside himself thatthe thing iSebuiously known to him” Or as Thomas Jeffeson asserted in the Det Tanation of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” The slCevidence of atu sights helps explain why they depend on evo tions rather than continuous development They had 10 be discovered, brat they had to be aleady present. Their existence isnot proved or dis- proved by ther actual presence inthe legal tradition but by ther eso- fhance with each individual’ interior feelin The self-evidence ofthe rights of man did not preclude vagueness about ‘heir actal legal and polities content. 1787 a Calvinist paso. Jean Pal Rabaut Saint Exenne wrote tothe French government to protest the gov ternments language in the ecenlly released and long sought Flic of Toler ‘aon for Calvan: ‘heya moved ithe preamble the ihe inking exo’ by he ofthe alin hsaperh on te sje that nom Cato om) 2 Jom ek ha tng ca efoethen t he el eso of te mal gD we Know te wt ali ead hey tiny etch moc morta ei score o Poem some to me thr H would have bea Bate suppres ths hough The ne hat ‘lme when ks no longer acepble fora iw to overtone he igh af Rima tat every wel known al over he wed Rabat didnot go onto specify dhose rights, however, and he exp agg nis etter tha the hing could not authorize public worship by no Caolles In other words by 1787 the concept of natural vghts seemed self-evident atleast tothe intellectual eit, but is content was uncertain. {sates 1787 Rabaut thought it meant some kind of religions toleration, but even he. a Protestant minister, didnot think it necessarily ea ll, sul and political rights for religious minorities ‘So sometime around the middle ofthe eightenth century, perhaps pat \aalaly in the decade ofthe 1760s the rights of man came to make sense “Te Prat Origin of Homan Rg > where they ad not before. The tern enters into the discourse: An under fiound evar as this entry for lune 13, 1763 the acon ofthe some fami today played for the Fink ime Man, of Iwich we presi spot a ply aut te nas An Feu toe of he now bay contd ges heen ole infor aamape wich could {re ey bei he rece fo sce eveything that we have ead seated ‘hon Kings ery te gh of mann The buy of Coon nin he Sl Cont Appatenily the rights of man had aleeady entered ordinary langue hanks to the influence of Rouseau (though Roussau himself only used it one ‘year befor), al most interestingly the term carne up i patil in wel "rence ta colonial peoples. 1s the savage who recites verses on iberty and the rights of man, ‘Whatever the precise origins ofthe term: the notion of he rghts of man appeared rather suddenly and wits Hite definin of the content of thse Fight ost of those using the phrase in the 17705 and 1780s refered to therghts of man aif they were abvious and needed no justification or de inion. Baron D'Holbach argued for instance, that if men feared death es, “the rights of man would be more boldly defended.” Honore Mitabeay de nounced his pesccutors who had “neither character nor sou, because they have no idea at all ofthe rights of men" fst what these sights were e- mained unspecified NEW BODIES, NEW SELVES, Tracing the une of aterm such a rights of man ionly a fs sep, Explain ing its selevidence—is credibility o large numbers of peoplereuires something farther. ftellectal and leg inflaences alone cannot account for the belieabity of hurnan rights in the second hal of the eighteenth ‘erury: Requied i addition were subtle but momentous changes in the perception of bodies and selves The ight of man only made sense becase Individuals were increasingly seen a capable of moral autonomy. The philosopher Charles Taylor insists that “to talk of universal, naa bi ‘man rights is to connect respect for human life and iterity withthe no tion of autonomy. It isto conceive people as lishing and ensuring the respect which f due tem. ‘Moral autonomy isnot jst a notion: isa set of practices that concer bodies and selves. Two related set of developments helped establish the be Het dat individuals could be equally and universally morally autonomous. atleast in they: 1) an inceasng sense ofthe separation an sacredness of bodies—yout body Is yours and my body is mney sell posession, and weshould bos reapec the boundaies and inet ech ete bodies ey tei seg ses of mpi tween pts ao sae TeuRgnSan dame fon Toke mony autonome 9 pe Zn ein eat tro hve io sone wth at deen eter seloed mst fe spree in some ore fe Fem er akon aman sis depend both on cf nesion smaSh Recon haa er ae eu wpe he sree Scelopment fie ite of core tha gies the al the raters awe mw ho sow In hited cen ae eee dave evans and men without pope were ox [ewe se otal wel conomdependers mo autnomous inva Se fhe hangin he deelopmens ok pla re elon cari nd Schlag inde xt theres (om {kent omen and became moe independent ages for ean fhe Tnchonsng mariage pte or cyano) The ang deol of ‘shun tel cons and the ping se af bal deco {Cathie on or sly wr spouse bed ing tna no on [CSerine foo or wiping bay ection on hing) eed eae 125 Sfuemaraton bree india bes an rater ope xD Ay tp he coma volo of noo of eres and dh of Pm the Citas the Mota conc onan ‘yl ears mcm nthe ih ea ‘ec prcems ook licen peso many ete. "en sre important era cite took place gute suddenly in she cighevnd cent hatents gan to wc esl prfomance and ira monte ote an pre ing coal he ek relapses of ce aning the ables ‘Tocnyof ters over hc chidren came unde ie and noe ad news Pay lien Ale tee combed none way of soe hero Treat th sptation spss ny of nda SI TRe pli of empalybemcen paste pote Heed Ader Son caited he nays n hich newspapers an nove eae new ons SThnged omar dh saa wna ra ih aeeEpmen a Imagine empsy whic prod he colo (Candnion of democyand haan ight. Linpay was not magne in tno vate met den ht "seal tee, Equy of gis unimagabe wihow» ston sense tht hy ae yo nbn nd in oc ators aed ome Seiya dle cannot fer in epeence a eu. Socal ‘tiahange te sheet ey mesa at ey oul om Beth posable The rd Orign of Maman igs " New forms of print culture such a newspaper and novels helped pro duce this imagined empathy: Reading a novel (inthe eight centy and not before) a reader identified with an ordinary person unknown him or her personally but with hom the reader empathied thanks o the narrative form itself. The novel disseminated a new psychology and 4 new social and political order al at once; by its forms of naretion ft made sr ‘ants like Pamela, the heroine of Samael Richatdaon’s novel by that name 11740, the equal and even the biter of ich men, such as Me B her ployer and would. be seduce. The novel made the point tha il elves ae funkdamentaly similar because of their inner poyehic processes adi the novel drew the reader into those psychic fof equality through passionate involvement ‘Gan it be ‘concdemtal thatthe thie greatest novels of paychologicalWentifcaion ofthe eighteenth century—Richatdzon's Pamala and Clara (1748) and Rousseau lute (1761) were all published in the wo decades that pre- «ese the appearance ofthe concept of the rights of man ‘Novels of al sous had been published before, of couee, but after 1740 they took offas agente tn France S new novels sere published in 1901.52, 1730, and 112 in 1789, tn tain, the numberof mew moves increased sixfold between the ist decade ofthe eighteenth century andthe 17605 I ‘xkltion, more people could rea, and novels nov featured ordinary poo le facg the everyday preblems of ewe mariage, and geting ahead i the ‘world as central characters. Literacy ha increased tothe polit where even ‘sents male and female read novels inthe big cites but novel reading ‘was not then, nor is it now, commen among the lower classes, French peas 8 who made up as much as 0 percent ofthe population, didnot ua ally read novels when they could wad at al "Novels created empathy through the magial power of narative, not by ‘ans of explicit moalizing. Many distrusted this power, but some notable figures were won ver The Scotish jurist and philosopher Henry tome ‘ond Kames woe that fieon’s potential to “generate pasion san a ‘miablecontivance to excellent purposes” Fiction cess a kind of “eal Dresence™ or “waking dream,” in which the reader imagines hime other to bean yewitnes: [Ihe readers pasions are never sensibly moved. he be thrown into a kind of revere in which state. losing the con ‘clousness of self, and of reading his present occupation, he conceives ‘very incdent a8 pasing in his presence, precisely asf he wete an eye-wie eas Mos important fr Kame, this ideal presence Fosters morality. "from i ideal presence} ently is derived that extensive influence which lan ‘age hath over the heat an influence, which, mote dhan any ther means, Sengthens the bond of society, and attract individuals oom tei pve ‘ystm to exe themselves in acs of generosity and benevolence"2 La a Jefferson appaenly shared this ve, which is pethape not suring nsec bed Rarer ho among ers, to Robert Skipwith in 177. ‘Shsgeuh wi snared the half ste of fersons wife, wrote co ffs filing fora list of recommended books. fefleson suggested many of the ‘Hala ancient and mover, in polis celgion, lw scence, philosophy, nd history, but he began his calog wit, poetry, plays and novels in Rating eae of Laurence Stee, ey Telding,ean-rangois Marmoniel, CGtverCldsmith, Richardson, and Rousseau, Inthe Fete dat went wth the reading it fferson waned elaguent on “the enttainments of ition.” "Peey things sf which cninibtes to fxs inthe principles and prac tice of vinwe he affirmed, Ching Wiliam Shakespeare, Marmontl, and Steme by name Feffersonexplalned that in reading such works we exp nee the “atong deste In oueclves of doing chaiable and grateful acs” Shut are diagusted by the defocmity of an evil deed and “conceve an abhor rence of vee” This constutes a kind of “exercise of our vitous dispost ‘Sons which produces °3 habit of thinking and acting viously” Ftion, he insted, produces “emulation” more eflectvey than reading history itimately at stake in the novel ofthe eighteenth century was nothing es than the valorization of ordinary secular fe asthe foundation fox morality, Inthe eyes of the erlics of nove reading, sympathy with a noveistic hero tne encouraged the worst in the indivi (ict dsites and excessive sel regard) and demonstrate the revocable degeneration ofthe scalar word. Fe the adherens of the new vew of empathetic moraliation, i contrast ‘ich identification showed that dhe arousal of pasion could help transform the inner nature ofthe individual and produce amore moral ode. They breve thatthe inner nature of mans provided grounding for social and polial author For human fights to resonate as a tion, people ha to Team co think of others as their equal and as ike them in some funda tema fashion. They leaened eal atleast in par. by experiencing iden {caso with oainay characters who were by definition wnknown to them but who seemed nonetheless dramatically present an familar. ‘TORTURE AND CRUEL PUNISHMENT [Although ove reading cannot be linked in lockstep fashion to human fight (1 am not arguing that Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Indepen- ‘Bence because of his fondness fr Sire), the general influence of the ‘hanging pereeption of odes and selves cn be een in the movernen 0 Shot egal orate and the most extreme forms of cxporal punishment java consequence of the revival of Roman law and the example of the Ciahohe ingutton, torure that was persed judicial to extract con tons tad been inutduced of tentroguced in most Eusonean countries "he Pada Ongin of Han Rigs as Iain had uprsedy eplced clone wih jresinte inet Stong hen intone ya nne fsiign te ‘aptaion er nobies hang orcommen cna daa atsSS only bepan to open then up In December 1789 the dps beg 1 Je {he teunrceolved sans f non Catholics the Bearaton sad nothing ane bout reigious minosten and the King had never rated piel Sigs to Protea rch eso Jove. metitly the new National As Stns agreed to etend al ya and pial gw Protestant. a at Ccreonsierable back and oath vote fl cl and pital igh tof in September 1791 The igs offre lacks andslves were bud 1 come tip for ducssion. to, ata the experience of the new United Sates Showed most dramatically, ght could be decaed even 38 slavery was Inainained In tah 1790 the Assembly yted to exempt the colonies fiom the consitaton and to proscte anyone who atempted to Prompt Uprtngs agains the save stem Agitation on the question eld tend, Sndin Say 1791 the Asembly rane politcal ight a imited number fie blacks and ulatos then In August 1791 the slaves of Saint ‘Domingue han what was to Become ove the nex several yea the Rist Succes shve rev iar. A month Tat the Natonal Asser yt SKinded the igh of fe blacks ony to esate ther a few mont later erween Angst and September of 1793 French agents ofall suppressed slavery n Sunt Domingue Although thir actions were nally denounced inthe Nasonal Convention as prof plot wth England the Convention Noted to abelish slavery inal the enc clonis in February 1794 ‘reiously exuded gps didnot wings because the French seo- lutonates wee not fie om prejudice The depts sated many of the tales of ther age hat we noe ade oe eligi bg ras ose Jat 'the priest Henri Cegore for stance who was ope ofthe mos con Stent ad broad mind advocates of ight fr Tes ad blacks reeted {othe ews as “paras plants who eat sway the substance ofthe ee to ‘which they are atached" Bat o label hese vews ant Semitic and one Teas some have that Gregoes actions led salt Auschwitz) ‘nly to anachronistic pat ouch on the bak fo er own ison Sipetoty Even more important this indo labeling distorts the Ms {al rcord because abaces what was uly new and ferent inthe eh teenth century in the case ofthe Jew fr example what wis Ne Was ot the ubigty ofan Semis, a feature of European Me fr centres, but father te fat that French revolutionaries Hike eget el called pon to incuss the stats of ew ina publi form sl afer sich dics ee ompeled to gran Jews the sme forms of ckizenship enjoyed by abet Trench men. Nowhere een the word not even inthe new Cited tates {i ew aw al vl and polite rights Ih mos of Europe. govern {id nou emancipate them unl helt nineteenth o ety twee ce {tytn he Unto Sate. they ned eights ona sate by state basis rom 1776 to the 1820s In Franc, ncontate they guned fll igs 1791 be ‘use the deputies could see no po atonal foe continuing to exclade ‘he Parada Orgs of Hunan Rigs ” them once thy had apd the principe undying the ecaation of the Right of tan ado he Csen ‘although the Beatin of the Rights of Man and ofthe Cit had phe the dete to eognize ihn vy thawte unimaincble be {ore 789, name majorarenot rhe thet wis tol merement The fitof women dd ot ete tesa Kind of iter! n precronaty Fane athe it of Prene ews ever sles. Women Hse ‘alned in the shadow despite the cena of women chaste inthe e tlm ofthe eter cent In faethe aati tenson of he nan of Fchardon and Rouseau ha Been bit on the parade stuaton of ‘ren. net noes sn anyother he elghienthcentry eben ‘rh freedom and consint—with moral autonomy ane Teast of Chard sound female characte reste yale ator. Nove is invented important nae charac such a dian Crusoe td Tom Jones and way prolifer authors wrote to. Ba the en gues ‘intense polo deiton wee the te female crac Pamela ls aa ie~cresed by chatson and Rouse Men 36 ‘ea women iene wih hc fate om lees to the aur we nw that ern men en mia fer erty ch shee women Apparent the aninomies of autonomy and dependence of fcedom and constrain coukl be moat testy eine a charac who could only pie to autnny and neve fea fly atin tat svomen A problem ike th parade women ee be shoe so noble orl hua, 30 Tong fr feo, hen how oul hey ‘edie ofthe gh! Men, rd women. oa, we ese peat eo in proving a ane fo that question, ‘Women’ igh di popup at an se inthe wake ofthe Declan of the Rights Man and of he Chae most orb in the wings of Con. dence ly 179) and Olympe de Coupes (epecalySepenber 1991} ‘Women organized thrown poi abe and ppt away of se mays pola ie but neve got poll igs ke those Prot tan Jewish, or black wen SU the sue of women's gts di mae ‘the ble and county have made i onto the ape of peal di ‘sion becatse human rights were unde lcason, Without the ene Acohaton there woul ave been no Stary Wollnecra wth he Ving ono he ist Wonan (1792) asComsance Ppt, ter eS a fd," expecially ding the reve tht women fllewing he Sample of men, have most testo abot ier te essence and have ‘ced consequence Le many thes shes tha the notion of human Sighs haan implacable loge ewentfi ha ot yet woe tn he ‘Sse of women that ther fal of humanity" ‘weer neti the ergs of human igh point to paradoaes pra tone aout istry (how cana ellesdent non thal aims to epee_ — see Christin A Lame, Be of Cod: The With tf Sand (Landon: ‘Ghe'¢ Winx 1951) 100 Ray Pye Teal ease fe mec ick ar Overt? The Ame oa of og any, 30 (Oe 003. 5. Cnt cl mthods of pishmen se A. Shae. a Paha tng’ (odo: ira aber 190), Panhinent on ella old tide heane ones ease oor ing on ex nae to he lio (p21. Stow eres wooden dee i ees an fd The play wa he SSicn hte ode od wih th ha nd hans ese oo pe cae SE Richard Mowery Ande Lae Mgr, an Cie OM Ree 1218-1 ol The Sem of Cpa ace (canbe Camb Unrest Pree 1998) 368, 367-88 Sen Cart ets Fre XV Vet Ve is (Pate pty 00) "oe ny dcp f breaking on he whe om an este cc of an ceeuinin Praag euro os ema be Stern Coming ar yo heh te. en 1787, Toh on oe 176) eta 23187 10-16 SF nda “Pa of ars ache nthe ight Cen tury the Amr era of gel Hay 30 (ape 158 163-86 qn p72 ‘iam sch “The Sts Law of Slo an Ren he Ten Ma Nant Cotoni fh sme To Wim nt Mary Carry Sa 34 AB 7a) Dre Pc, Mink dr ne ee Labeugeriche 9 vs (Ombre, ‘wot Gamay Bs Vay 198, in of 1632 Bei een), 0-4, 2. benny rh of Pa Psa pon rn sata Ugo Sy Rel Sayfa he nn, Cone a Thetina of tony enjoin ky ape ar 1787 {tattphia: seh re 198) cpt nin of al Lae P- foe Sel tc, 178-a Nw ek: ron 972 wh cial ape ebetig7 or acted in ack ia, La Raion re so (Pass Raber tafe 0 i Comnce ile, Rap a ra i. The se De tact rene doe bg Le ae. Yea pen pean 2 2 The Chinese Revolution and Contemporary Paradoxes Iefrey N. Wasserstrom ‘Aer confonting the vious conundrums inoduced in the preceding apt maybe tempting for ees sume that hey ate nee fam {arith lof the main pardons they need to Rep in mind wl Fading {his book They may ao be empled to asime that the key mn is {teeumenis fae epoca have Become fet of iternal eons and co teatitons than the eightcnth-centry one that ar yn ants main Canin bape 1. However neither ofthese aturptions ae ue #1 ty show in his chapter by looking closely tone mar wentet centr Up hemal (he Chinese Revoluon) and ene uma mponane recent (ihe Univenal Decaaon of Human igh adopted By the United Ne tors [UN] in 1948). yma argument that wengap wh contenpes try elution and present-day debate and documents tony ees Imaing he acquaintance of new conundrums Bu also encountering so ‘ra those Menied by Hunt! "suet hat one has face aii parades as wll nove nes is ‘matt imply thet human ights discus ha pone easel unaired Since 1788 ptod during which new reolusovary sacle appeared ‘nd many features of pol Ie underwent complex tansonmavos. Many things about the way that he Mes man igs thought abou sisted, and acted on have ceainy changed eat deal a we have Ime om the he Ane Reon nha Some ee though thik problematical) asthe contemporary posteohenay ea Toten with human igs curse developed fom feng atom) Wester oa decidedly abl fa Txy Hs something at has both tn Mend and been nfaenced by many dee clara aon, And Acting his the ey tet that ow deine te scoured to De he wosighs ae univer and og, which means that all aman beings have cena inherent ight spy by virwe of being human and not by virtue of he sta ta in socey, whether that defined by sex face ethnic. a group of fame lew scl ase an occupational group. or even an ene nation: 2) that thee ight ate consequent imagined tual, ag stemming fom human hate Helland they have fn the past often been called natural igh; and 4) thatthe lgtimacy of any goverment ests on its ability to guarantee der the law the human rights ofa ts members Akbough these sumptions scund abaract an snivers ey ony eame wo make sense some by no means all people inthe eight ceray. Without dhe universalism ofthe Sihventh-ceatry Enlightenment and the poial shocks ofthe American anal Trench Revoktions of 1776 as 178, respectively ete would have been no concept of human its inthe West RIGHTS AND REVOLUTIONS Although rights have a Yong inlet, egal, and poital istry inthe West dating back tothe Greeks, tights didnot tum into human sighs hough a staghtforwad, continuous development. This sory Is tather one of jumps ant discontnuits lagly marked by revolutionary episodes in turope during the seventeenth and eee centuries. Many sebolas gree that an important fist sep was taken in the seventeenth centay by the Dutch philosopher Ifugo Grotus when he defined natural ights 3 Something self possessed and something conceivable separate from God's Wil He sugested that people could use their ights—unaided by religion — to establish the contractual foundation for social fe. Grotus published his book in 1625 inthe mst ofthe Dutch revoluion for independence fiom Spain? The hext important stage in development of the notion of human rights came ding the English Cv War ofthe 16408 The tng Levees ook k's theory an gave it prac, poivcal sing. In The Agreement of| the People of 1647 or istance, te Levellers insisted on their “common” for “native” rights, implying thatthe goverment must guarantee them: “irlor a cannot be imagined that so many of our countrymen would have opposed usin this quare they had understood thei own good, 89 may we safely promise to ourselves that when ou common rights and ib tris shall he cleared, thet endeavors vail be disappointed that seek (0 ‘make themselves cur masters” After listing their demands they concluded, “These things we declare toe our native rights, and therefore are agreed nd resolved to main therm with our utmost possibilities agains al op Sosition whatsoever” The levellers did nat atthe da. bat they nonethe (6s showed the radical implications lung in natural rights and showed, ‘he Paes Orgs of Human igh 5 imoweover how a revolutionary upheaval could bring these implications Ino the light of day In these ely daye—indeed right doven to 1789—the actual composition ‘of mata ighs wor vague For Grotiay they were fe body frecdom, and honor (alist that seemed to cll slavery, in parca, into question). hin [locke equated natural ight with “Lie ben and Fstate,"In other words with property of various sons (and so he did not cll slavery into ques tion) Most English discussion about ight itl around their existence ‘or nonexistence rather than thee precise makeup Thomas Hobbes ina red an endusing counterraition that argued that the Idea of rights ws meaningless ether because such tights had to be given up to establish am ‘ordeny civil society (Hobbess own position) or becuse they counted for nothing compared to postive law (leremy Rentham’s position) or com pared to divine ight (4 the cae of Robot Filmer or example). In one of the strongest statements of one version of this postion Bentham nasted that 'Natual rights simple nonsense natural nd impresrptbe rights ‘hetrca nonsenie, nonsense upon silt oth the pro-nights and ani-sihts postions had thir vigns in pial ‘isis Natural ights got an impariant boost (and gained some important "ppanents) during the revolutions of the seventeenth century. At the end of the eighteenth century the Americans and French tured to Tights ay ‘ments inthe midst of thee own poitial upheavals AL the moment that Fis wete perceived to be volte, they could be defined a8 ether trad tional or universal The English tended to define them ae the traditional "ights of freeborn English men in the seventeenth centary (though Locke slid 1), bt the Americans and especialy de French defines them nw vera terms atthe end ofthe eighteenth century. By dispensing with his. {orical traditions the Americans and especlly the Hench [because Amer ‘ans still ching 10 uaditonal arguments t9 some entent) made rights potentially accesible to everyone In other words rights had to shed thet Istria armen to become hun sights rights potenally applicable to cveyone How did thishappent Although the English Whigs had defended the no- ion of natural ght in the Revolution of 1688, they had not attempted 0 Found the legitimacy af all government on thee guarantee. Deriving rom "nglish history the il of Rights of 1689 refered othe “ancient rights and Hines” established by English law le did not declare the eins univer ‘aly o¢ naturalness f eights. which ate all xsental requirements fora re oneept of “human rights” In contra. the American Declaration of Inde pendence of1776 and the Feeadh Declaration of the Rights of Man and of ‘he Ciizen of 1789 both claimed a ight of revolution to establish ot ‘establish the natural equal and univer rights of individual and both linked legiimacy to the guarantee of individual, natural tightsa ym Hae antennae shen rn tint stitch cuenigret a Sage Septem tae med hee irik Se eh ale tetas ar tele hme oe ng Saeco a eerie tories a ne Sheen nn bee naa tn Schecter mc mt thew toi akon ind feo ao Notes 1 thee Dean wan peor Dr 114 heen hme eet nto 0 ie emit oy te Srp ch Ast gr hrs hr tc eye 98K ah Sits nt ha Pia Po Gos Som goon (Cam ‘ite nit ney 0), Sa re he Comal Dc ft Rtn uo ESE sd Garnet 00) 2 ee ce Cam abi: Camb iy Texan pn sto Fandns ox Opened f The French Dd cs Maat Cons af 1 a Opn ad and to a te St Re an ane a Feat cae ngs Mn, hs ara Te te ess rt tas (Or arson Pe sey an There oc 9 aot od saa ave nit nn Gun ieencg eae te nea Dcaaon of ndpendnce ante i Reed ett ar Ne ght sneer at ncn neyo 4) 3 WZ nar ey th ers ow touted ny Se ath Me ein he Ph en Et rend ce ee Cy ama et tracey te SN enema ag Avis pnemettons 8 (1879), "The Pra rig of Human igs » SEES ion meena team wl tn an ee eects ‘Etvangite (Paris: Von, 1966), 484, et : dds as ets 7 wo (071-170) a 5 (hn TA. “Tew de Rat Si fin m ur Ta de Toerance de 1787," de us ssa de tinea 3 (184) 300-41 psa ance ects for so 9 Ft de Reais les Po sh DCCL ot sur sh (Lamon 1780; in 190) 390, To. 1h dMotbah Spm dla Nae (170 London, Tok "Comte de Mie, Lets ries dren (1780: Pars 1792) 41 zy ip Se he Tho non ay Cmte 18 Reni Anon IugielCommne: flo on he vig nd Syd son anna) Sehr pes treating a sense silane o time In which cnery Headed. foe stn fe sa cen hat tna am me teed im how they generated anew se of elf ad empty fete se ‘ches aos space (Han to this sultan in homage cay tae ala Quietness endnotes snl Ene rr rt ld ao a9 apron da St ie (1-1 (ae Op 199) 20cm eo Hichar runch eye ds ge oma ana 179-1000 Coe ‘Mans 197) Om the Engh orl lames Tne Ba Hato 150. 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