| October 11, 1978If only we will back off a little more | | | | review and the diffusion of property in a private |
| on our demands that Russia live up to the Helsinki | | | | sector. In short, our civil rights derive from the |
| agreement on human rights, a strategic arms | | | | theory and practice of limited government."Our |
| limitation treaty can be signed any day now.Secretary | | | | political leaders, when they come to praise civil rights |
| of State Cyrus Vance has given away the B-1 | | | | in one world forum or another, do not argue in favor |
| bomber, cruise missile, neutron war head and nuclear | | | | of limited government - perhaps because they no |
| carrier. Now that all U.S. weapons advantages have | | | | longer really believe in it. They always talk as if their |
| been abandoned, the principle broadly defined as | | | | mission is to persuade authoritarian or totalitarian |
| human rights is under final attack.In the end we can | | | | governments to make a gift of civil rights to their |
| expect that the noble precepts of human rights will | | | | people."POLITICAL RIGHTS are those to participate, |
| be accorded short shrift.Perhaps our retreat from | | | | in one degree or another, in government. |
| principle is inevitable. Human rights is, after all, a | | | | One-person-one-vote is indeed a constitutional |
| campaign catch-word that greatly complicates the | | | | principle by which a people may govern itself. But it is |
| real world of power politics if taken seriously.Other | | | | not the sole such principle. Only a dogmatist would |
| nations, friends and foes, had difficulty figuring out | | | | insist that it is, everywhere and always, the best |
| what we meant by human rights. Not until President | | | | principle. Even the United States, after all, for most |
| Jimmy Carter defined the term more precisely - in | | | | of its history has not been governed by this |
| private - and turned down the volume did our | | | | principle."The proper extent of political rights in any |
| international relations smooth out.The trouble was - | | | | nation is not something our State Department can |
| and still remains for the American public - that "human | | | | have a meaningful opinion about. It can only be |
| rights" has too many meanings. Each hearer interprets | | | | determined by the people of that nation, who will |
| the concept to suit his own convictions.Irving Kristol, | | | | draw on their own political and cultural backgrounds in |
| professor of urban values at New York University, | | | | arriving at a suitable disposition of this matter."We |
| summarized the problem some time ago in a guest | | | | can try to set them a good example by making our |
| analysis for the Wall Street Journal."Human rights | | | | democratic republic as admirable as possible - as our |
| really includes four very different political ideas," said | | | | Founding Fathers urged. But that's about all we can |
| Kristol."HUMAN RIGHTS PROPER is the least political | | | | do - as our Founding Fathers |
| of the four meanings, since it applies equally to all | | | | recognized."SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS were |
| governments, regardless of their political structure. It | | | | inscribed in the United Nations Charter, and the United |
| refers to those practices of government which, in | | | | States, in its folly, has duly subscribed to the principle |
| the perspective of our Judaeo-Christian civilization, | | | | behind them. The principle is that a welfare state is |
| can flatly be called abominations, that is, where | | | | always and everywhere better than a non-welfare |
| questions of degree are irrelevant. Genocide, whether | | | | state; that the more comprehensive a welfare state, |
| on a large scale or small, is such an abomination. So is | | | | the better; and that the right to a broad range of |
| torture. And so are restrictions on the right to | | | | government services is absolute, whether the nation |
| emigrate."Though the U.S. since World War II has | | | | can afford them or not, and whether the people |
| been properly outspoken on the issue of genocide | | | | want them or not."A particular and debatable version |
| and torture, it has avoided making any fuss about | | | | of 20th-Century liberalism is suddenly presented to us |
| the right to emigrate. The reason, to put it bluntly, | | | | as a universal 'human right.' Since, at this late date, it |
| was fear of offending the Soviet and other | | | | might be difficult to repudiate this absurd principle out |
| Communists governments. The Carter administration | | | | right, we ought to ignore it as much as |
| seems willing to continue this particular policy of | | | | possible."Failure to recognize the several |
| 'moral detente.'"CIVIL RIGHTS are those of an | | | | interpretations possible of his campaign slogan has |
| individual with his government, and are summed up in | | | | unnecessarily entangled President Carter in semantics. |
| the phrase, 'the rule of law,' to which even | | | | He frequently finds himself in the embarrassing |
| government is subject."It is important to emphasize, | | | | position of lecturing our allies and looking the other |
| since we Americans have so parochial and | | | | way when our enemies commit worse violations.Now |
| impoverished a sense of history, that such civil rights | | | | we are on the horns of a dilemma -one labeled SALT |
| can exist even in non-liberal or nondemocratic | | | | treaty and the other human rights. To get one we |
| societies. Neither Henry VIII nor Tsar Nicholas I ever | | | | must bury the other.And it really doesn't make much |
| presumed to think he had the kind of arbitrary power | | | | difference which.Lindsey Williams is a Sun columnist |
| which many member governments of the United | | | | who can be contacted at:Website: with several |
| Nations exercise today as a matter of course."As | | | | hundred of Lin's Editorial & At Large articles written |
| Robert Goldwin recently emphasized, we seem to | | | | over 40 years.Also featured in its entirety is Lin's |
| have forgotten that our own broad definition of civil | | | | groundbreaking book "Boldly Onward," that critically |
| rights is rooted in our political and economic structure | | | | analyzes and develops theories about the original |
| - in federalism, the separation of powers, judicial | | | | Spanish explorers of America. |