Reaction Paper on "Human Rights Interventions Throughout Human History"

Reaction Paper 3 pages (1030 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Human Rights Interventions

Throughout human history, the existence and extent of natural, universal human rights has been a central question in ethics, moral philosophy, and government. Rationales have been created to excuse horrific tortures, mass genocides, invasions, conquests, enslavement, and practically anything else that can be imagined as growing out of the worst parts of human nature. For as long as such atrocities have been occurring, however, others have questioned the rights of the perpetrators and the victims, and have even used force to prevent what they determined to be violations of basic human rights. It is not really until the modern era, however, and really only in the past century, that the topic of human rights has become a global issue. News services are now able to instantly inform one part of the world about occurrences in another, and the global economy is often hugely affected by conflicts and human rights violations in resource-rich and conflict-laden parts of the world. Southeast Asia had a series of despotic and totalitarian regimes that regularly abused and murdered their citizens. South America, too, has its own set of similar, ongoing problems in the aftermath of the 19th century's colonization practices. Such problems also persist in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Just the factors that lead to such large-scale and officially sanctioned human rights violations are diverse and complex, so too are the responses by other parts of the world to the abusers and the abused. As the world community grows smaller, the question of authority and rights becomes more important. Intervention by outside people and countries in perceived human rights violations have become quite commonplace, increasing the number of conflicts between people with opposing or at least disagreeing views in the world today. The question of what exactly are the rights of humans, if they exist, and when and how intervention may be deemed proper, is of utmost importance in our modern world.

It is easy to say, as John Locke did, that all humans are entitled to life, liberty, and property (or, as the small cadre of landed gentry that were our Founding Fathers would have it, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness). It is far more difficult -- impossible, actually -- to develop a rational proof of these entitlements. Though our moral sensibility might agree with these sentiments, the premise that these are "unalienable rights" is intellectually unsustainable. Even more difficult, if this premise were to be accepted, is determining the meaning and extent of liberty. John Stuart Mill's "harm principle" is perhaps the most widely used and inclusive definition of liberty; basically, he believed that humans should be able to act and think in any way they wished that did not prevent anyone else from doing the same -- people are free to do anything that does not harm anyone else. Of course, the question of what constitutes harm is also a matter of debate, and even if that were settled, Mill's position is in no way a reflection of global consensus. Due to the rational disagreements with every step… READ MORE

How to Reference "Human Rights Interventions Throughout Human History" Reaction Paper in a Bibliography

Related Reaction Papers:

Intervention in Kosovo: U.S. and NATO Involvement Term Paper

INTERVENTION in KOSOVO: U.S. & NATO INVOLVEMENT

The objective of this work is to discuss the sources of the conflict in Kosovo and the efforts taken by the international community,… read more

Term Paper 16 pages (4657 words) Sources: 16 Style: MLA Topic: World History

---

Since 1500 a History of World Societies Term Paper

1500 History of World Societies

European average income per person began to rise in comparison with the rest of the world beginning in about Answer:

1450 b. 1650 c. 1750… read more

Term Paper 3 pages (870 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Asian History / Asia

---

Civil Rights Movement in America the Struggle Term Paper

Civil Rights Movement in America

The struggle for the Civil Rights of the African-Americans have their roots in the slave trade era and the resulting pressure to let go the… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2291 words) Sources: 6 Topic: American History / United States

---

History Education Term Paper

Theories

Tactics

Methods and Techniques

A Specific Method

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, and RECOMMENDATIONS

Results for the Same

Examples of Voices Singing a Canon

The Project Life Cycle

Project Management Puzzle Parts… read more

Term Paper 76 pages (24173 words) Sources: 22 Style: MLA Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Human Trafficking Research Proposal

Human Trafficking

The objective of this work is to examine the history of human trafficking as well as the moral and legal obligations and the impact of human trafficking on… read more

Research Proposal 10 pages (3155 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>