Week 4
In Wendy Brown’s essay, “The Most We Can Hope For…”, she makes it a point to let it be known to the reader that human rights activism is much more than protecting the innocent and powerless. She cites multiple times author and former politician Michael Ignatieff, whom she describes as “thoughtful and nondismissive”(451). Not only is Brown arguing that human rights activism is more than protecting any certain individual , but also that it is “… effective in limiting political violence and reducing misery”(452). She goes on to state that if all of the “…politically let blood, politically inflicted pain, and politically induced fear”(452) that has been present throughout history can be erased by human rights, that achievement alone would be enough, even if they achieved nothing else, because no one would be able to argue with it. However, how can human rights accomplish this when it is said to be a political project itself that, in Brown’s words, is a particular form of political power carrying a particular image of justice (453). Brown includes Ignatieff’s understanding of human rights which is that it is not about what is good or right, but rather the agreement “about what is insufferably, inarguably wrong”(454).
Two points that I believe are not as highlighted as they should be but are present nonetheless are that human rights have a lot to do with moral and empowerment so that can help people to help themselves. Terms such as moral currency, moral consideration, moral equality, moral inviolability and moral antidote are just a few of the term that Brown uses to help define human rights. Brown states that human rights has become the “international moral currency” In addition, she goes on to state that “human rights is the language that systematically embodies the intuition that each individual is entitled to equal moral consideration… we can say that we are making moral progress”(453). Although, as much moral that is included in human rights, the political parts of it remains immoral in many ways. How can human rights help people help themselves when there are so many political, social and economic aspects involved. The question stands, what kind of politicization does human rights include because they definitely include political aspects even though that’s who they are supposed to be standing up to and opposing.
Although Brown states that human rights were created to protect an individual, she also adds a lot of political affiliations and how they are unavoidable. I do agree that human rights are than what they seem to be and we have to begin to scratch the surface to truly see their intentions and what they truly wish to accomplish
