This chapter examines the argument by negative rights in light of the claim that human rights are Western. In other words, human rights are Western in the sense that negative rights tend to be emphasized in human rights discourse in the West as compared to positive rights. The concepts of negative rights and positive rights have corresponding implications for our conceptualizations of the state, society, and family. However, the concept of rights is not identical with that of negative rights, even if the evolution of human rights in history may generate this impression for given historical...

This chapter examines the argument by negative rights in light of the claim that human rights are Western. In other words, human rights are Western in the sense that negative rights tend to be emphasized in human rights discourse in the West as compared to positive rights. The concepts of negative rights and positive rights have corresponding implications for our conceptualizations of the state, society, and family. However, the concept of rights is not identical with that of negative rights, even if the evolution of human rights in history may generate this impression for given historical periods. Human rights may be at times considered Western in this limited sense but it is not a limitation which has not been or cannot be overcome.