Human rights are an important topic that seems to be talked about more often in today’s world than it has in the past thirty or forty years. Human rights are universal standards for the treatment of all people. These rights typically include ideas such as dignity, liberty, and freedom from discrimination.
The most widely recognized set of human rights is the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was formed after World War II to prevent atrocities from happening to people globally. It is based on the values of “universality, interdependence and indivisibility, equality and non-discrimination, and that human rights simultaneously entail both rights and obligations” (United Nations, n.d.). Over 50 nations participated in creating the declaration. This shows that human rights should be considered as a universal agreement.
In our country, the laws can come from the federal level, the state level, and the city level. The Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are the three major departments in the United States that deal with these topics. Other countries can have their own laws regarding human rights, so it is important to pay attention to those as well. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin is probably the most well-known one in the United States. There is also the age discrimination act of 1967, which prohibits discriminating against people over the age of 40 in employment. Another common one in the workplace is the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits discriminating against people with disabilities if they are able to perform the job.
In recent years, several issues have been brought to the forefront that could be considered human rights issues. There have been countless protests over these issues, but while it might be causing some change at some levels, is it really going to cause a culture shift? In a previous class, we went in depth on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his messages. He felt that the United States will not change until it gets away from the capitalist economy. He felt that as long as profit was the number one goal for people, decency and human rights would always take a back seat. One of his examples was slavery, which is a good example. Why pay workers if you can get the same results from free labor? That decreases your payroll and increases your profit. No one worried about the fact that slavery and what they did to those slaves is extremely wrong on a human rights level. Another example that he used was the Vietnam War. I had never learned this part, which made me curious. According to King, the Vietnamese people were trying to secede from France at the time, similarly to what the US had done to England before. He then said that the reason why we fought Vietnam is because it was more profitable for us to side with France. If this is true, it completely ignores doing the right thing, solely for money. Also, he notes that the government told the people that the goal was to stop the spread of communism, when in reality, only a very small percentage of the Vietnamese people wanted communism. I personally think that you can still have a capitalist economy while also paying attention to human rights, but maybe I am being unrealistic.
Although they seem obvious to some people, like me, human rights still seem to be an issue all over the world. It just doesn’t make sense to me that people would discriminate or show bias over things like race, nationality, etc. I feel that each human should be dealt with as their own individual self as a person. I’m not a religious person, but the term “sins of the father” comes to my head on this topic as well. If you meet a person and automatically decide that do not like them because you do not like their father, is that fair? The same thing goes with things like racism. Just because someone of a different race did something that makes you uncomfortable, is it fair to then hold that against other people of that race? When you say it out loud like that, the answer seems pretty obvious.
References
United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html.
Pennsylvania State University. OLEAD 410. Fall 2020. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075490/modules/items/29697161
Pennsylvania State University. OLEAD 410. Fall 2020. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075490/modules/items/29697162
Well, I agree with you that cultures are dynamic. Based on that, literally anything concerning it will have some sort of impact on it, but my point was that I don’t think that the protests are having a meaningful enough impact to change the culture. You did touch on that as well, saying that it might not be enough. A lot of people seem to just view it as noise, then as soon as the protests slow down or stop, things could go right back to how they were. It’s almost like out of sight and out of mind. I understand the reason of these protests, why people do them, etc., but like you said, I think that there needs to be more than that. What is the next step? The protests showed what the issue was, showed that people are concerned about the issue, drew attention to the issue and how important it is to people, but what is the next step? Why are the next steps not receiving the same attention? Obviously media coverage plays a role in it, but people need to keep on the gas pedal if they want to cause major change.
As for your question on the socially conscious consumers having an impact on capitalism, I think that they absolutely could. The main reason why I like capitalism is that I like the idea of an open market. Granted, I am aware of certain monopolies and other things that occur to sway some of these ideas, but it is mostly open. A business makes money because they are selling products or services that the consumer wants or needs. The consumer (usually) has multiple options for the same product or service. It is up to them to decide what factors are most important to their decision. If it is price, convenience, location, etc., they need to prioritize that. Socially conscious businesses do exist, so if consumers make that choice, then those businesses can continue and even expand. Right now, I think that convenience and price seem to be the primary reasons why people choose who they do today.
Luke,
I absolutely agree with your assertion that human rights have become a focal point again in recent years, however, I have some questions regarding a couple of your other statements. You stated “In recent years, several issues have been brought to the forefront that could be considered human rights issues. There have been countless protests over these issues, but while it might be causing some change at some levels, is it really going to cause a culture shift?” While I believe are correct that protests may not be enough to create all of the change needed in order to create a quick culture shift, but since culture is dynamic, by definition it is always changing albeit slowly. Therefore it could be argued that any and all action being taken at a given moment in time is contributing to a change in culture that will take place later in time. My main question for you is regarding your statement covering Dr. Martin Luther King’s views on capitalism in relation to human rights. You said, “He felt that the United States will not change until it gets away from the capitalist economy.” Also, you expressed your feelings on the subject by sharing “I personally think that you can still have a capitalist economy while also paying attention to human rights, but maybe I am being unrealistic.” Outside of governmental policies, laws, etc. that some protests are looking in enact, there are things that each and every one of us can do as consumers to create a more equitable society. In fact, millennials are characterized as socially conscious consumers and they are willing to spend more money at companies that share their conscientious views and ideals (Fransen, 2018). Do you think that socially conscious consumers can have an impact on creating a cultural change using capitalism?
References
Fransen, B. (2018, July 29). Millennials: Conscious Consumers and Employees. EcoMatcher. https://www.ecomatcher.com/millennials/.