This chapter of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen explores the “intellectual edifice of human rights.” The concept of human rights is often trotted out almost like a totem in debates. We need to get beyond that perspective.
I found several ideas in this chapter to consider. The first was the three critiques Sen highlights used to prove that there are no universal human rights.
The first critique, called the legitimacy critique, suggests that legal authority sanctioned by the state is needed for human rights to have the status of “real”. The state defines and sanctions human rights. Healthcare is only a right if a law says it is a right.
The coherence critique suggests rights only exist if some agency provides the right. Without the ability to provide the right, there is no entitlement. Healthcare is only a right if someone provides healthcare to a person or group.
The third critique is the cultural critique. In this critique, rights are conditional on the nature of acceptable ethics, which are not universal and are dynamic. Healthcare is a right until society decides it isn’t.
If there isn’t a universal set of human rights, each group will seek to define its own set of rights and freedoms. Differences generate conflict between groups. Understanding the freedoms and rights that each group believes in is critical for negotiating change.
A second area defining rights that struck me is the idea of perfect and imperfect obligations espoused by Emmanuel Kant. A perfect obligation is a duty that is “legally enforceable”. If the person bound by the obligation fails to fulfill it, the person to whom the obligation is owed can seek legal remedies. Remedies include suing for damages or specific performance. An imperfect obligation is a duty that is not legally enforceable. While there may be a moral or ethical reason to fulfill the obligation, the law does not provide a remedy if it is not performed. The rules and frameworks within society are a mixture of perfect and imperfect obligations. A similar relationship is present in organizations. Some rules and frameworks create enforceable obligations, and others are based on cultural and moral norms. When transforming an organization or team, change agents must understand that development and product frameworks are imperfect obligations. Helping people understand and implement behaviors based on obligations that are not “enforceable” requires different approaches and tools. Tools like empathy and peer pressure are more effective than screaming “you must” without an enforcement mechanism.
In the final third of the chapter, Sen states, “The ethical assertion of a right goes beyond the value of the corresponding freedom only to the extent that some demands are placed on others that they should try to help.” This statement had a significant impact on me during my reads of this chapter. Not only do we have to be aware of the implications and outcomes of a right (remember the discussion of the three philosophies of freedoms in the last chapter), but we need to participate in helping people understand and take advantage of freedoms. This suggests that some form of equity is important, or the obligation to “help” will be viewed as a burden.
Sen sums up the chapter with the case for a set of universal freedoms resting on three pillars:
- “Their intrinsic importance;
- their consequential role and providing political incentives for economic security;
- their constructive role in the genesis of values and priorities.”
Considering all three pillars, it is hard to deny the importance of basic freedoms (for example, freedom from hunger, healthcare, and housing). At a micro level (organizational or team transformation) the link might seem more tenuous until you view the first two pillars through the filter of helping to create values and priorities, then the relationship becomes clear.
Logistics note: we have two more weeks in this re-read. Next week, we will reflect on Chapter 12 (we did Chapter 11 earlier due to its relevance to current events) followed by a wrap-up.
Previous installments of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen:
Week 1: Context and Logistics
Week 2: Introduction and Preface
Week 3: The Perspective of Freedom
Week 4: The Ends and the Means of Development
Week 5: Freedom and the Foundations of Justice
Week 6: Poverty as Capability Deprivation
Week 7: Markets, State, and Social Opportunity
Week 8: The Importance of Democracy
Week 9: Social Choice and Individual Behavior
Week 10: Famines and Other Crises
Week 11: Women’s Agency and Social Change
Week 12: Population, Food, and Freedom
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