Mike's musings

Synchroblog - Human rights (and Christian responsibilities)

Ramblings of a proto-ethicist

As a liberal - and I live in a country where the moniker is not an insult, at least not yet - I am drawn to the discourse of human rights. There is a strong calling to recognising the rights of the inidividual, particularly as against the State, and to a consequentialist ethics which, at root, exists to ensure - or to try to ensure - the best outcome for the most people.

An example: there are rights around whether I should be allowed to exist in a smoke-free environment. I believe that I have a right to health. You argue that you have a right to smoke if you wish. The arbitration tends to be - and has been, in the UK, at least - that the benefits to society as a whole (in terms of healthcare costs for smokers, for instance) outweigh the rights of smokers to injure those around them. This is a good argument, but there are problems with it (not least issues of how you tax smokers, and why you allow tobacco to be sold in the first place). For me as a Christian, however, I am beginning to question how I feel about the consequentialist argument.

The classic alternative to the consequentialist argument ("do the best for the greatest number of people") is the de-ontological argument ("do what is right" - sometimes over-simplified to "the end justifies the means"). This is an argument from the Law. And, for Christians, it is with a capital "L", typically. There are a number of problems with this: not least the suffering of individuals who are often trampled underfoot, and the problems with being certain that you know _what_ is right (and what "the Law" really commands). But one way to balance these issues is to remember that with rights come responsibilities: they are always balanced the one against each other. For some, this can move us into an approach labelled "virtue ethics", but I'm not yet sure that I want to move down this line.

I don't have answers this month (do I ever?), but I think that if we remember that rights _always_ entail responsibilities, we are at least part of the way there.

Synchroblog

Today's post is a "synchroblog" on the subject of "human rights". If you've liked what you read here, or, more particularly, if you didn't, and you'd like to read some other opinions, please visit one of the other participating blogs:

• Sonja Andrews on Human Wrongs
• Adam Gonnerman on Guantanamo Bay in the eyes of God
• Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort
• Steve Hayes on Human rights and Christian faith
• Sally Coleman on "If"
• Adam Gonerman on "My Charade is the event of the season"
• Janice Fowler on "Voice Overs Needed" (or "Wake up - Speak Up")
• Mike Bursell on Human rights (and Christian responsibilities)

Labels: ethics, synchroblog