Assignment 3
Apiece of evidence that Wendy Brown provides to support her claim that human rights activism can not be reduced to “a pure defense of the innocent and powerless”, is when she quotes ” All that can be said about human rights is that they are necessary to protect individuals from violence and abuse, and if it is asked why, the only possible answer is historical. In the past of United States of America, history shows that activists of and for human rights were not innocent and powerless. They showed great strength by standing up for what they believed in. They took a stand against what they felt was wrong and made a conscious effort to make a change.
Wendy Brown uses Michael Ignatieff, a Canadian author and former politician, Tanner Lecture Series from two thousand one as a reference in this reading, “The Most We Can Hope For…”: Human Rights and the Politics of Fatalism. Michael Ignatieff was also the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. In this reading Michael Ignatieff says “human rights must accept that it is a fighting creed and that its universal claims will be resisted.” This quote is evidence to the fact that human rights can not be reduced to “a pure defense of the innocent and powerless.”, because those who realize that they will be climbing an uphill battle against extreme climates and still persist in doing so are far from week. They are strong. It takes a strong individual to break through any type of resistance.
Wendy Brown also quotes this line from Michael Ignatieff, “Human rights is a language of individual empowerment, and when individuals have an agency, they can protect themselves against injustice.” The word empowerment alone means and stands for “authority or power given to someone to do something.” Empowerment is the complete opposite of “powerless.” Human rights activist are driven by the empowerment to do what is right by and for others. Wendy Brown later brings up empowerment again and says ” Moreover, to the extent that human rights are understood as the ability to protect oneself against injustice and define one’s own ends in life, this is a form of “Empowerment” that fully equates empowerment with liberal individual.
Another quote that stuck with me throughout this reading for its connect to what Wendy Brown said about human activists not being reduced to “a pure defense of the innocent and powerless” was when Michael Ignatieff says “Without the freedom to articulate and express political opinions, without freedom of speech and assembly, together with freedom of poverty, agents cannot organize themselves to struggle for social and economic security.”
