Human Rights and Global Diversity

As the process of globalization intensifies and as we become increasingly conscious of the global dimensions of human existence, the case for developing norms that are global in reach and application also becomes stronger. Yet the human race still exhibits a marked diversity of culture, belief and value. This collection of essays explores the problems involved in combining norms that apply to all humanity with sensitivity to, and respect for, people’s cultural differences. Among the many issues that the authors address are the following: can we and should we treat the human race as belonging to a single global community analogous in character to the political communities that we call states? must the doctrine of human rights ride roughshod over cultural differences or can it accommodate those differences? does the idea of human rights itself have a genuinely universal status or is it no more than a local prejudice with global pretensions? and should we treat individuals or groups and communities as the relevant claimants when we devise global norms?