The Riddle of Human Rights

What are human rights? Are human rights disputed ideological concepts? and how can they be defended, and extended? Wolf-Dieter Narr of the Free University of Berlin writes that through this book one is able to recognize the fundamental ambivalence which characterises all the 'theories' on and the practices of human rights in the West. It, makes the reader aware of human longings and needs which are the other part of human rights. This book challenges the concept of human rights, it shows that the contradictions that characterize human rights reflect the conflicts inherent in capitalist society, lead to the pervasive violation of those rights, and make respect for them impossible, particularly in this era of global capitalism. The author argues that human rights as spelled out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not 'human' rights - but rather time-bound and relative to a particular mode of production.