The future of human rights

Abstract

The future of human rights continues to be subject to scholarly debate. One aspect of this debate concerns support for human rights among different economic classes in the Global South. This thesis investigates the future of human rights by focusing on the town of Makhanda, South Africa. Does the middle class support economic rights and the redistribution this implies? Are poorer classes’ support for human rights dependent on the realisation of their economic rights? To answer these questions, this study uses qualitative in-depth interviews to gain insights about the attitudes and perspectives towards human rights of persons living in the Global South. The findings suggests that support for human rights exist among poorer classes and is not dependent on the realisation of their economic rights. Despite their economic rights being disregarded, the poor express a continued need for support for civil and political rights. While the middle classes support economic rights, they nonetheless withhold consent for the redistributive measures those rights entail. The future of human rights suggests that, while support for civil and political rights is likely to persist, economic rights may continue to be systematically disregarded, as the middle class is unwilling to bear the burden of the redistribution that their realisation requires. It remains unclear whether – and for how long – poorer classes will continue to endorse the human rights framework in the absence of meaningful progress toward the realisation of economic rights, without challenging those who enjoy these rights.