Economic Rights in Canada and the United States

by Howard-Hassmann, Rhoda E.; Welch, Claude E., Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780812220933
• ISBN10: 0812220935
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-03
• Publisher: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr

Summary

Readers in Western developed countries are most familiar with abuses of political and civil rights, but the international human rights regime also embraces a set of laws regarding economic rights. These rights include the right to work and to just and favorable working conditions; the right to join and form trade unions; the right to social security; specific rights for the family; the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, and "the continuous improvement of living conditions"; and the right to "the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health." In original essays by senior scholars and junior ones, this volume explains how these rights are realized--or violated--in Canada and the United States. Contributors analyze the philosophy, law, and politics of economic rights and discuss specific issues such as poverty, health care, and the rights of people with disabilities. Central to the problems of both countries are the human rights abuses evident in all contemporary capitalist societies. When the inequalities among citizens are not cushioned by a national commitment to economic rights, or when governments fail to maintain social safety nets for all citizens, economic rights are at risk. Contributors consider the problem from the perspective of their own countries: Canada, the United States, and, for contrast, the Netherlands. They do so in order to explore whether their own countries fall short of meeting international standards of economic rights. They also address the criticism often made by non-Western scholars of human rights--that their Western colleagues preach human rights abroad without regard to the human rights flaws at home.

Author Biography

Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann is Canada Research Chair in International Human Rights and Professor in Global Studies and Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. She is the author of several books, including Compassionate Canadian: Civic Leaders Discuss Human Rights. Claude E. Welch, Jr. is SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York, Buffalo. He is the author of many books, including Protecting Human Rights in Africa: Strategies and Roles of Nongovernmental Organizations, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Looking at Ourselves	p. 1
Philosophy, Law, and Politics of Economic Rights
Justifying Socioeconomic Rights	p. 25
International Law of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: A U.S. Perspective	p. 41
On the Margins of the Human Rights Discourse: Foreign Policy and International Welfare Rights	p. 55
Poverty
Homelessness in Canada and the United.States	p. 73
Welfare Racism and Human Rights	p. 87
The Movement to End Poverty in the United States	p. 103
Contentious and Emerging Issues
So Close and Yet So Different: The Right to Health Care in the United States and Canada	p. 121
International Labor Right, and North American Labor Law	p. 137
Deconstructing Barriers: The Promise of Socioeconomic Rights for People with Disabilities in Canada	p. 149
The Economic Rights of Migrant and Immigrant Workers in Canada and the United States	p. 169
A European Comparison
The Netherlands: A Walhalla of Economic and Social Rights?	p. 189
Appendices
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights	p. 203
Excerpts from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, January 6, 1941	p. 211
Excerpts from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, January 11, 1944	p. 213
List of Abbreviations	p. 215
Notes	p. 217
List of Contributors	p. 261
Index	p. 267
Acknowledgments	p. 275
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