On the Spirit of Rights

Politicians in America and France invoked the natural rights of man to wrest sovereignty away from kings and lay down universal basic entitlements by the end of the eighteenth century. Dan Edelstein's On the Spirit of Rights examines the complex genealogy of the rights that regimes enshrined in the American and French Revolutions, surveying a series of debates among rulers, jurists, philosophers, political reformers, writers, and others. It reveals that every new claim about rights is a variation on a theme, from late medieval notions to the modern talk of "rights."

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 05 December 2018
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

In the late 18th century, politicians in America and France began to invoke the natural rights of man as a means to wrest sovereignty away from kings and establish universal basic entitlements. The question of how and when "rights" came to justify such measures is central to Dan Edelstein's book, On the Spirit of Rights.

Edelstein explores the complex genealogy of the rights that were enshrined in the American and French Revolutions. He surveys a wide range of debates among rulers, jurists, philosophers, political reformers, writers, and others who were all engaged in laying the groundwork for contemporary systems of constitutional governance.

What emerges from Edelstein's analysis is that every seemingly new claim about rights is a variation on a theme that dates back to late medieval times. Late medieval notions were subtly repeated and refined over centuries, leading to the development of the concept of "rights" that we recognize today.

The book spans centuries of European intellectual history, from the Wars of Religion to the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It provides a sweeping tour through this history and serves as an essential guide to our ways of thinking about human rights today.

In conclusion, On the Spirit of Rights is a valuable contribution to the study of human rights history. By tracing the genealogy of the rights that were enshrined in the American and French Revolutions, Edelstein demonstrates how the concept of "rights" has evolved over centuries and how it continues to shape our understanding of human rights in the modern world.

Weight: 614g
Dimension: 161 x 235 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226588988