ABSTRACT
Theories of human rights necessarily ascribe rights universally to all humanity. Some people find that universalism implausible given the plurality of cultures, ideologies and religious beliefs to be found among human beings. In his Political Liberalism, John Rawls presents a theory of justice that is "political" in a special sense. A "political" conception is distinct from what he calls a comprehensive doctrine. Comprehensive doctrines include philosophical, religious and moral doctrines. In fact, Rawls's constructivist theory of international justice plays only a very limited role in his account of human rights. Assuming that Rawls is committed to the same logic in the international arena, his political conception of human rights is not intended to rival comprehensive doctrines, including doctrinal theories of human rights. Rather, it too ignores questions of truth and tries to establish a reasonable set of rights for peoples and individuals independently of any doctrinal claim.
