Human rights inflation

The concept of human rights inflation describes the expansion of human rights claims, potentially diluting the significance of fundamental rights.[1] Critics argue that this broadening of scope blurs the distinction between essential and non-essential rights, making it harder to enforce and protect core human rights. The term has been in use since the mid-20th century, reflecting concerns about the proliferation of rights claims and their impact on legal and social systems.[2]

The theoretical basis for human rights inflation includes arguments from philosophers like Zhao Tingyang, who suggest that the proliferation of rights can lead to societal instability and value confusion.[3] Karel Vasak's framework of three generations of human rights—civil and political rights, socio-economic and cultural rights, and solidarity rights—illustrates this expansion.[4] Critics contend that adding socio-economic and solidarity rights complicates enforcement due to their resource-intensive nature.[5]

Scholarly perspectives vary, with Michael Ignatieff viewing the expansion as necessary to uphold equality and human dignity, while Upendra Baxi emphasizes the need to recognize expanded rights to address systemic inequalities and marginalization.[6] The broader implications of human rights inflation include challenges in resource allocation and the enforcement of socio-economic rights. Critics argue that the resources needed for these rights could undermine the enforcement of traditional civil and political rights, impacting political discourse and legal frameworks.[2] These debates highlight the dynamic nature of human rights and the need to balance traditional concepts with contemporary societal needs.[7]

  1. ^ Theilen (2021): "Worries about the inflation of human rights are not new – indeed, they can be traced back at the very least to mid-century responses to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)."
  2. ^ a b Han (2020); Kaisary (2022).
  3. ^ Zhao (2018): "既然超越了善，权利优先原则就必定蕴含着一个关于权利的悖论：假如对某种自由和利益的要求可以被搞成一种权利，那么任何一种并且所有对自由和利益的要求就都可以按照同样理由被搞成权利。这个悖论将是价值混乱和社会失控的根源，而且已经开始表现在人权的实际发展状况中。" ["If a demand for certain kinds of freedoms and interests can be made into a right, then any and all demands for freedoms and interests can be made into rights on the same grounds."]
  4. ^ Kaisary (2022), p. 84: "[...] liberté (first-generation civil and political rights), égalité (second-generation socio-economic and cultural rights) and fraternité (third-generation rights of solidarity)."
  5. ^ Theilen (2021): "It is remarkable, in particular, how consistently socio-economic human rights in the form of welfare rights have been denied the status of 'real' human rights on the basis of the anti-inflation mindset."
  6. ^ Baxi (2001); Zhao (2018).
  7. ^ Zhao (2018).