Theories of Rights

Book excerpt: To those who invoke them, rights are powerful instruments for settling arguments in favour of the right-holders. But the nature, provenance and justification of rights are uncertain and disputed and there are doubts about whether rights should play a distinctive and fundamental role in moral and political discourse. More recent disgreements have centred on group rights and on whether rights have a universal application across different cultures and moral traditions. These and other related issues are explored in depth by the essays in this volume, which are mostly drawn from a wide range of journals in philosophy, politics and law.