Abstract
The idea of rights is now central to moral and political thought in liberal-democratic societies. Domestically, assertion of rights has become the usual way to advance interests and causes. This is because the language of rights adds moral force to claims.1 Internationally, liberal-democratic governments claim that their foreign policy is based on support for human rights (although the support is too selective, according to state interests, for the claim to be convincing). So, the idea of rights is prominent both domestically and internationally.
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Notes
J. Feinberg, ‘In Defence of Moral Rights’, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 12, 2 (1992), pp. 165–6.
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© 2008 Paul Smith
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Smith, P. (2008). Rights. In: Moral and Political Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-59394-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-59394-7_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-55276-0
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-59394-7
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