The Rights Revolution

Michael Ignatieff

House of Anansi Press, 2000 - 170 pagini

"Since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, rights have become the dominant language of the public good around the globe. Struggles for rights--by women, aboriginal peoples, and minority groups--have shaken societies everywhere. In 1999, human rights language was even used to justify a military intervention in Kosovo. In Candada, rights have become the trump card in every argument from family life to Parliament Hill. The long-standing fights for aboriginal rights and for the linguistic heritage of French-speaking Canadians have steered Canada into a full-blown rights revolution. This revolution is not only deeply controversial here, but is being watched around the world. Are group rights -- to land and language -- jeopardizing individual rights? When everyone asserts their rights, what happens to responsibilities? Can families survive and prosper when each member has rights? Is rights language empowering individuals while weakening community? Michael Ignatieff confronts these controversial questions head-on in The Rights Revolution, defending the supposed individualism of rights language against all comers. For Ignatieff, believing in rights means believing in politics, believing in deliberation rather than confrontation, compromise rather than violence."--Back cover

Despre autor

Michael Ignatieff, born in Toronto in 1947. But at the age of 11, Ignatieff was sent to Toronto to attend Upper Canada College as a boarder in 1959. At UCC, Ignatieff was elected a school prefect as Head of Wedd's House, was the captain of the varsity soccer team, and served as editor-in-chief of the school's yearbook. As well, Ignatieff volunteered for the Liberal Party during the 1965 federal election by canvassing the York South riding. He resumed his work for the Liberal Party in 1968, as a national youth organizer and party delegate for the Pierre Elliott Trudeau party leadership campaign. He then went on to continue his education at the University of Toronto and Harvard and Cambridge universities. In 1976, Ignatieff completed his Ph.D in History at Harvard University. He was granted a Cambridge M.A. by incorporation in 1978 on taking up a fellowship at King's College there. Michael Ignatieff has written television programs for the BBC, novels, and works of nonfiction. He has also authored essays and reviews for several publications including The New York Times. From 1990-93, he wrote a weekly column on international affairs for The Observer. His family memoir, The Russian Album, received Canada's Governor General Award in 1988. His second novel, Scar Tissue, was short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1993. Other nonfiction works include A Just Measure of Pain, the Penitentiary in the Industrial Revolution and the Warrior's Honor: Ethic War and the Modern Conscience.

Informații bibliografice

• Titlu: The Rights Revolution; CBC Massey lectures, ISSN 0542-9773
• Autor: Michael Ignatieff
• Editor: House of Anansi Press, 2000
• ISBN: 0887846564, 9780887846564
• Lungime: 170 pagini