ABSTRACT

In 1976 two treaties came into force in international law that embody the highest ideals that have ever been expressed in law, let alone in international law. They are the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. This chapter sketches aspects of the classical liberal worldview that are inherently hostile to the implementation of important rights now held through the International Covenant on Social, Economic, and Cultural Rights and other international human rights conventions. The conflict is rooted in the classical liberal theory of value and associated moral principles. It presents an alternative to classical liberalism in the form of a systemic theory of value that is more compatible with human rights law. The chapter considers returns to the subject of the International Bill of Human Rights as the blueprint for the common good in the twenty-first century.