Danièle Lochak, Christian Nadeau, Pablo Gilabert, and Julie Saada publish a new book entitled Les droits de l’homme sont-ils néolibéraux ? published with Presses SciencesPo.

“This volume explores the origins of the human rights project and traces how human rights evolved throughout the twentieth century. It then turns to a reflection on what human rights are: far from being a crystallization of selfish individualism, they are, above all, a means through which individuals offer mutual protection.

Human rights are contested. To be sure, they have always been challenged by anti-democratic political agendas—what some today describe as illiberal or techno-oligarchic regimes. But human rights are also criticized in the name of democracy itself, in the name of egalitarian ideals—in short, in the name of a vision of justice that these rights are said not only to fall short of, but even to obstruct.

Today, as neoliberalism enters into crisis and as new forms of deregulation reshape global geopolitics—from trade to warfare—we must ask: can human rights serve as a meaningful tool to combat mass poverty, to guarantee access to healthcare, education, and decent working conditions?

These are the questions at the heart of this volume.”

Summary

Avant-propos by Julie Saada

Danièle Lochak. Une dénonciation sans fondement

Christian Nadeau. Les droits sociaux entre théorie de la justice et droits humains

Pablo Gilabert and Julie Saada. Les droits humains peuvent-ils être un programme de gauche ?