[afro-nets] Food for an emotional versus a committed thought

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Food for an emotional versus a committed thought
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MORE ON THE POLITICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Human Rights Reader 62

THE POLITICAL IMPERATIVE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WORK. (Part 8 of 16)

74. An emotional commitment to human rights (HR) work is loose
and romantic; a political commitment is more militant. People or
institutions that fall under this category strongly feel that
the prevailing market economy system and the economic globaliza-
tion process at its core are wrong, that they generate and main-
tain existing HR violations; they thus set out to fight these
injustices, either by reforming the system deeply or by trying
to replace it with a more human-oriented system --one more re-
sponsive to the human rights of the marginalized worldwide. ('So
foul a sky clears not without a storm' - Shakespeare's King
John). People who take this latter position also depart from a
moral imperative, but have gone several steps further. (Of
course, one should also keep in mind the political imperative
from the right: pro-status-quo, conservative, and in favor of an
unbridled global free market economy, as well as of an unrelent-
ing war against terrorism. But this group is rarely vocal on HR
issues in development work. They rather worry about the civil
and political rights of those who live in non-capitalist or,
sometimes, dictatorial regimes).

75. Are individuals who take a militant anti-Establishment posi-
tion, on a more realistic track? It is clear that they look more
into the ultimate determinants of human rights violations that
are to be found in poverty and in the different parameters of
social injustice. Therefore, they would seem to be on the right
political track, or at least asking the right questions.

76. HR activists are also influenced by the experiences they
have had in the different political systems in which they have
operated. Cultural and ideological bias is, therefore, unavoid-
able. Too many of our colleagues tend to think of themselves as
a-political: but there simply is no such thing. Despite the fact
that the spectrum of choices is a continuum, in last instance,
one either condescends to the system or one objects to it --
totally or partially; any of these are political stances.

77. It is ideology that channels our social behavior in predict-
able directions. On the other hand, ideology as an 'integrated
politico-social program' is the result of a voluntary internali-
zation of the values of a given society, be it real or utopian.

78. Radicals or 'leftists' are probably more affected than lib-
erals by the use of this pejorative labeling. They are thought
of broadly as revolutionaries or temperamental activists ready
to destroy the free enterprise system. Ninety nine percent of
the time. this simplistic view is not accurate. Radicals are
generally characterized by a more idealistic commitment to pur-
sue the solutions to the final and most important determinants
of poverty and HR violations. It is not infrequent that some
have adopted a socialist ideology, at least as an analytical
tool. They definitely question the principles of social justice
of the capitalist system and its ideology: they strive for a
better, more rational politico-social program; they aim at gen-
erating social commitment in science. Because they use an ideo-
logical approach in these efforts, there tends to be more inter-
nal consistency and more comprehensiveness in their approach to
resolving the problems of HR.

79. Radicals tend to be action-oriented, verbal and constantly
try to point-out contradictions in the system leading to HR vio-
lations. They spend quality time denouncing the inequalities and
injustices they see and, within their ideological framework,
they make an effort to propose possible solutions to solve the
major contradictions; they use every opportunity they have to
share these concerns with their peers, sometimes with decision-
makers and, as often as possible, with members of the community
that are suffering the problems themselves. They often work for
the same bureaucracies as liberals do and academe is also one of
their preferred refuges. They tend to be skeptical about tradi-
tional top-down intervention programs although, as do liberals,
they often participate in some of them (but more often as a ve-
hicle for organizing the beneficiaries at the base to let them
start solving their own problems, and to help them gain some ad-
ditional power to do so). They feel an urge to contribute to the
liberation of the socially oppressed groups.

80. Radicals prefer to by-pass traditional government bureaucra-
cies and work as much as possible at the grassroots, organizing
the people around their problems. An important intervention for
radicals, at that level, has to do with the task of making the
people aware of their problems in an ideological context through
organization and political consciousness raising.

81. Of course, some of our colleagues fall in in-between catego-
ries, between liberals and radicals. After all, each of us ar-
ranges her/his universe and her/his role in it as well as s/he
can. People in such a position are either in a slow transition
to either category, or are permanently in-between. The latter,
for sure, have a heavier burden to carry, since one can presume
they have to confront more everyday contradictions within them-
selves.

82. In the long run, there will have to be more radical moral
changes in the attitude of many of our colleagues. The question
is, will these lead to ideological changes in some? We have al-
ready passed the era when we asked scientists to become more ap-
plied researchers; now we are asking all development workers to
become more socially conscious and more committed to become real
change-agents, leaving behind a lot of epidemiological finery.
De-politicized science is not science in the real service of man
(Franz Fannon).

Claudio Schuftan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn