Summary of "Human Rights and the Age of Inequality"
Full Summary
The essay "Human Rights and the Age of Inequality" addresses the stark contrast between the ideal of human rights and the persistent reality of global inequality. Beginning with the story of Croesus, the last king of Lydia, who considered himself the happiest man and sought to eliminate his citizens' unhappiness without cost, the essay illustrates how inequality has long been embedded in human society and persists today. Croesus’s wealth was eventually taken by the Persian king Cyrus, symbolizing the fragility of wealth and power.
The essay highlights the widening gap between rich and poor worldwide, noting the irony that while International Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10th, true equality in resource distribution remains unattainable in practice. Though human rights promise freedom and equality, these rights often remain theoretical rather than actual.
The author outlines two major phases in human rights history: the heroic age around World War II and the subsequent ascendancy of political economy in the 1940s. Post-1940, favoritism and division between US-led democratic nations and USSR-led communist countries intensified global conflict, epitomized by the Cold War. Even after decolonization, progress in human rights and development was limited, as national welfare agendas overshadowed egalitarian human rights.
Drawing on ideas from Herodotus, the essay advocates for socio-economic justice through wealth redistribution from the rich to the poor. To realize real human rights, there must be fundamental changes in the socio-political structure and economy, including fair distribution of wealth and resources, enforcement of laws, and encouragement of radical movements. Without systemic change, human rights will continue to exist only on paper, not in lived reality.
Overall, the essay is a call for rethinking human rights in the context of global inequality and urges concrete action toward creating a more just, equitable world.