On Some Problems with Rights

Human rights law doesn’t work. Or at least, it doesn’t work if we think that (inasmuch as any law can) human rights law ought to enable and support human flourishing in meaningful ways in order to make life better for all. In other words, it doesn’t work in ways that ensure not only that the negative limits of state power are clear (e.g. that the state may not arbitrarily detain someone) but also that states can be compelled to act in ways that address significantly the material privations of everyday life so that, at a minimum, everyone has enough to eat, adequate shelter and healthcare, and access to education. Moreover, it has thus far, by and large, failed to address the misery – planned and unplanned – of everyday life in a world beleaguered by continuing inequality, conflict and distributional biases (Marks 2011).