ABSTRACT
Today, politicians and political activists cite “human rights” as a warrant for extraordinary action. Protesters sometimes justify civil disobedience on the grounds that they are protecting or promoting human rights. Citing the need to punish violators of human rights, superpowers sometimes intervene in other states' affairs, and, on occasion, inflict economic boycotts, war, and other forms of suffering on foreign populations.Of course, protesters, nation states, and other political actors sometimes are mistaken, insincere, and dishonest when they declare that are acting to protect or promote human rights. Still, human rights are cited often enough to merit an investigation into its meaning. What do we mean when we sincerely talk about human rights? What are the implications of human rights for public policy?
