Human Rights economics

There are many reasons for economics not ignoring human rights. First of all, there is an entire set of proclaimed human rights that concern economics directly. According to this set of rights it has to be recognized that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying freedom from fear and deprivation can only be achieved if the conditions are created for everyone to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights, as well as their civil and political rights.

Indeed, one may legitimately question the substance of the individual’s right to choose, be it a political leadership or a religious belief, when facing the possibility of immediate death through a lack of the economic means to obtain medical treatment, for instance. On the other hand, realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and the community to which he or she belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of these recognized rights, responsibility becomes one of the major issues in the assertion of human rights. In other words the definition of who or what is responsible for providing rights to the individual more or less outweighs the discussion on the foundations of their legitimacy.