Cato Podcast Obama Denigrates Human Rights
Sep 3, 2010
Roger Pilon, Vice President for Legal Affairs at the Cato Institute and expert on constitutional and human-rights issues, dives into the complexities of human rights under the Obama administration. He critiques the U.S. joining the UN Human Rights Council, pointing out the administration's politicized approach to equality. Pilon contrasts civil-political rights with economic-social claims, arguing that the latter often infringe on individual liberties. He advocates a classical rights theory rooted in property, challenging the notion of welfare-style rights.
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Conflating Welfare With Human Rights
- The Obama administration's U.N. report treats socioeconomic disparities as violations of equality before the law.
- Roger Pilon argues this conflates government-provided goods with genuine human rights and misframes policy as rights protection.
Two Covenants, Two Kinds Of Rights
- The UN's Universal Declaration mixed civil-political rights with economic-social claims, creating two very different covenants.
- Pilon warns the Obama report implicitly endorses social-welfare 'rights' equal to core civil liberties, which the Senate never ratified.
Do Not Redefine Rights As Entitlements
- Avoid treating government redistribution programs as equivalent to human rights because they require taking from some to give to others.
- Treat core rights as protections against coercion rather than as entitlements to state-provided goods.