Critical Theory and Human Rights: From Compassion to Coercion (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)

McGrogan, David

ISBN 10: 1526174642 / ISBN 13: 9781526174642

Published by Manchester University Press, 2023

About this Item

280 pages. 9.21x6.14x0.59 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-1526174642

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Critical Theory and Human Rights: From Compassion to Coercion (Critical Theory and Contemporary Society)
• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1526174642
• ISBN 13: 9781526174642
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.51 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

This book describes how human rights have given rise to a vision of benevolent governance that, if fully realised, would be antithetical to individual freedom. It describes human rights’ evolution into a grand but nebulous project, rooted in compassion, with the overarching aim of improving universal welfare by defining the conditions of human well-being and imposing obligations on the state and other actors to realise them. This gives rise to a form of managerialism, preoccupied with measuring and improving the ‘human rights performance’ of the state, businesses and so on. The ultimate result is the ‘governmentalisation’ of a pastoral form of global human rights governance, in which power is exercised for the general good, moulded by a complex regulatory sphere which shapes the field of action for the individual at every turn. This, unsurprisingly, does not appeal to rights-holders themselves.

About the Author

David McGrogan is Associate Professor of Law at Northumbria Law School