66. A DEAD-END OPTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. (Part 12 of 16)
A word of caution is called for at this point on the issue of what I call “pseudo-basic intervention techniques or approaches” that many of us have advocated-for at one…
65. SO, WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS? HAVE WE BEEN USING THE APPROPRIATE STRATEGIES, TACTICS AND TOOLS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS? (Part 11 of 16)
As I had said earlier, factors such as foreign debt, international and national income maldistribution, the exploitation of the primary (agricultural) sector, the commoditization of agriculture, overt or hidden un-…
64. PASSIVITY MAKES US ACCOMPLICES OF THE STATUS-QUO. MANY OF US, WITH AN ACADEMIC APPROACH TO CHANGE, SHOULD NOT FORGET THIS. (Part 10 of 16)
Given the present conditions, the outlook for quantum changes in the human rights (HR) situation in the world appears to be limited, but certainly not hopeless. The room left for…
63. MANY AMONG US THINK THAT POLITICS IS DIRTY OR NOT A VIRTUOUS ACTIVITY. (Part 9 of 16)
Moralists, too often insist on quixotic actions against the injustices of the prevalent social system –which they also clearly condemn. But they do not seem to realize that, in the…
62. THE POLITICAL IMPERATIVE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WORK. (Part 8 of 16)
An emotional commitment to human rights (HR) work is loose and romantic; a political commitment is more militant. People or institutions that fall under this category strongly feel that the…
61. PROJECTS DREAMED UP IN A SOCIAL VACUUM MUST PLAY THEMSELVES OUT IN THE REAL WORLD OF INJUSTICE AND CONFLICT. (Part 7 of 16)
The objective consequences of many a development project may turn out to be different from their original subjective intent. We need human rights (HR) activists who are strong and elastic…
60. AS HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS WE ARE TOO OFTEN COMMITTED TO STABILITY AS THE PREREQUISITE FOR JUSTICE…RATHER THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND. (Part 6 of 16)
Much of what has been called liberal activism in the last half century has been merely an accommodation to historical change –to circumstances. It represents a triumph of circumstance over…
59. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INJUSTICE ARE NOT AN ACCIDENT. (Part 5 of 16)
It should not come as a surprise that social and economic injustice is not an accident. It springs from the very nature of capitalism, now in its phase of globalization.…
58. IT IS THROUGH IDEOLOGY THAT SOCIETY ULTIMATELY EXPLAINS ITSELF. (Part 4 of 16)
‘In-the-way-things-are’, society makes disprivilege look right. Human rights (HR) violations are simply ‘explained-away’. Although development scholars sometimes engage in an ideological debate with the culture that breeds them, they almost…
57. WE HAVE TO LEARN TO LOOK AT TOTALITIES, RATHER THAN AT FRAGMENTS OF REALITY. (Part 3 of 16)
When looking at totalities, what will count as facts will depend on the concepts we use, on the questions we ask. Asking different kinds of questions produces quite different kinds…