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This comprehensive book offers both an introduction and a critical analysis of enduring themes and issues in the contemporary theory and practice of human rights. Providing a multi-disciplinary analysis, it engages with philosophical, political and social approaches to the subject of human rights.Andrew Fagan argues that the moral authority and practical efficacy of human rights are adversely affected by a range of myths and misunderstandings - from claims regarding the moral status of human rights as a fully comprehensive moral doctrine to the view that the possession of rights is antithetical to recognising the importance of moral duties. The author also examines the claim made by some that human rights ultimately only exists as legal phenomena and that nation-states are inherently hostile to the spirit of human rights. This book will challenge people to reconsider their understanding of human rights as a global moral outlook. This monograph will become essential reading for both postgraduate and undergraduate students interested in the field of human rights. It will also be invaluable to academics, researchers and human rights practitioners involved in the human rights debate.

Human Rights and Capitalism brings together two important facets of the globalisation debate and examines the complex relationship between human rights, property rights and capitalist economies. Human rights issues have become increasingly important in this debate and their place as harbingers of justice or as an instrument of oppression is fiercely contended. Both sides of this issue are considered in the contributions to this book and the complex relationships between human rights, human dignity and capitalist economies are the themes running throughout the work. Appearing at a time when these issues are a subject of extreme controversy, this book is distinguished by its balanced and academic approach. In three sections, the work first of all deals with theoretical and philosophical issues, exploring tensions between capitalism and human rights. The second section considers more specific problems relating to the trading regime, which have significant impacts on human rights, and the final section considers human rights and capitalism in a South American context.This is an interdisciplinary exploration of the tensions which occur in the modern globalised trading regime between capitalism and the attainment of universal human rights. It will be of interest to scholars interested in the globalisation debate, as well as economists, lawyers, philosophers and political scientists.