Sex and the Problem of Human Rights

From The Heritage Foundation and The Independent Institute:

The Constitution/Civil Liberties






Sex and the Problem of Human Rights



by Stephen Baskerville



Independent Institute



January 05, 2012



The Independent Review





Something disturbing is taking place in the politics of human rights. At one time, human rights were seen as a matter of putting international pressure on authoritarian regimes to stop repressing their people. With little discussion or scrutiny, however, the term human rights has evolved into something much more expansive. It is little exaggeration to say that it has become a free-for-all, a grab bag into which one can toss almost any political agenda, however distantly connected to the term’s original understanding. In the name of human rights, we now undertake campaigns to legislate contentious social policies and claim the authority to instruct other countries on their welfare programs and spending priorities. Recent innovations allow the criminalization of not only government officials but also private citizens for “human rights” violations. The term human rights is astoundingly used even to rationalize suspension of due-process protections and incarcerations without trial.





URL: www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_16_03_2_baskerville.pdf