Much ado about nothing? The emptiness of rights’ claims in the twenty-first century United States

Abstract

What does it mean in practice to claim a right? Does claiming a right add to the persuasive power of political demands? Does it clothe political demands with a moral urgency, setting such claims apart from the ordinary class of interests? In examining these questions, I suggest that in practice rights’ claims add little to political discourse. This is because Americans equate their policy preferences with rights. I find scant evidence for the belief that Americans have sufficient knowledge of rights to make them meaningful or that pronouncements of rights have persuasive power or imbue issues with heightened moral legitimacy.

Citation

Rosenberg, G.N. (2009), "Much ado about nothing? The emptiness of rights’ claims in the twenty-first century United States", Sarat, A. (Ed.) Special Issue Revisiting Rights (Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Vol. 48), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1059-4337(2009)0000048004