Post-Keynesian Essays from Down Under Volume III: Essays on Ethics, Social Justice and Economics pp 220-230 | Cite as
Human Rights: Issues in the Welfare State
Abstract
This Chapter is concerned with a restricted range of human rights, those that are affected by the nature of the economic system. Most of the things that are usually accepted as human rights in the second half of the twentieth century take the same form irrespective of the structure of the economy. Rights such as freedom of religion or freedom from arbitrary imprisonment do not depend on what sort of economic system is prevalent in the society in which one lives. Other rights, like freedom from hunger, take quite different forms depending on the nature of the economy, and may not exist at all in some economic systems. Given its title, it is the second sort on which this Chapter focuses; but statements like “the fundamental human right in the welfare state is such and such”, does not mean that the right to practise one’s religion is any less fundamental, just that it is not something that distinguishes the welfare state from some other economic system.
Keywords
Minimum Wage Welfare State Full Employment Unskilled Worker Relative WagePreview
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Notes
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