Sunwater Institute Rights and Liberties Project: Difference between revisions
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====Behaviorism==== | ====Behaviorism==== | ||
====Feminist Thought==== | ====Feminist Thought==== | ||
Freedom of the press is an issue proving to be more relevant in the modern era as the media influences the public and changes the way people make decisions within their life. It is for this reason that feminist theorists have briefly addressed this right as they recognize the power the press has for the feminist movement and the advancement of women's rights legally and socially. The notion of freedom of press is addressed by Betty Friedan and briefly Martha Nussbaum to explain the role the media plays when it comes to women achieving their rights and equality within society. When it comes to certain rights like freedom of press, the feminists are somewhat unclear about their stance on the issue although inferences can be made based on the implicit arguments made throughout their works. | |||
The notion of freedom of press is interesting according to the feminist perspective because of the unclear answer they have on whether this right should exist within society. Specifically, when talking about the press, Friedan noticed that “At the first press conferences after the law went into effect, the administrator in charge of enforcing it joked about the ban on sex discrimination. ‘It will give men equal opportunity to be Playboy bunnies,’ he said” (Friedan 1973, 368). Friedan points out the problems with the media and journalism in the country to help demonstrate the power men have in most institutions in America. She notes that journalism within a nation is important and should be allowed to do as they please so long as they put the right information forward. Despite being her expectation for the media, her example of how journalism is conducted shows that society’s intention is not towards the female empowerment agenda and therefore makes it hard to make a clear statement on freedom of the press. Like the other institutions Friedan discusses, the press is riddled with oppressive people who again will not use their power to help women. As Friedan notes above, the media had the chance to help encourage the ban on sex discrimination, but instead made a joke out of it and therefore discrediting the ban that could help enforce legal equality for women. Had the media approved of the ban, then it would have been received batter by society and may have even helped create more support for women and their efforts towards equality. Furthermore, Friedan notes “In Washington I found a seething underground of women in the government, the press, and the labor unions who felt powerless to stop the sabotage of this law that was supposed to break through the sex discrimination that pervaded every industry and profession, every factory, school, and office. Some of these women felt that I, as a now known writer, could get the public’s ear” (Friedan 1973, 369). Friedan notes the blatant discrimination women face in the government and the way that they are given the low jobs that are necessary for society to work the way it does, but she also notices that these women wish to be given the proper recognition they deserve. It is for this reason that Friedan would claim that there should be a freedom of press that conveys the right and appropriate message to the public about the state that women are in. It is this underground network of women in government that get cast aside by the men in society and Friedan believes that it should be the press to rediscover and report on the work that these women do in every single organization. Friedan recognizes the power the press must tell the stories of these women and their efforts to help society while not being given the recognition they deserve. Friedan believes that if the press can report about the discrimination and the problems women face and therefore challenge society into changing their views on women, then maybe there will be a possibility for change. | |||
It is from the brief descriptions of instances from which one can derive an answer about whether freedom of press should exist within society. Friedan writes noticeably that “In fact, the media’s, political muckrakers’, and even feminists’ obsession with such charges, which originated as an expression of women’s new empowerment, now begins to seem almost diversionary” (Friedan 1973, 7). On the other end of her discussion of the media is the harm that the media can cause for women if it does not stay on the message that is trying to be conveyed. She notes that media and the press today might distract the public from the true message at hand and pull away from achieving social justice because society might focus on the details that are not that important or necessary. In other words, she understands that people contort the facts to achieve their own intentions which might also cause problems because again it takes away from the goals and the intentions of reporting about women’s issues. In addition, speaking to rights in general, Nussbaum notes that “Thinking of this problem, then, we can insist that universal norms of religious toleration, freedom of association, and the other liberties are essential in order to prevent illiberal subgroups from threatening legitimate forms of pluralism” (Nussbaum 2000, 52). Although the freedom of press is not specifically referenced by Nussbaum, it still follows the idea that feminist theorists follow the other liberties enshrined in society leaving the space for the possibility of freedom of press despite the unclear conclusion from the feminist perspective. Specifically, it is Nussbaum’s support of pluralism that supports the notion of freedom of press since allowing people to share and report on what they like adds to the notion of being plural with one’s opinions and what they share. To the feminist perspective, any right or liberty exists, it is just about how the right or liberty is used and encouraged to either help women or reinforce the patriarchy. | |||
What is most interesting about the feminist political theory is the way that the rights people have only retain as much importance as society has assigned to it. In other words. Feminist theorists are not so much in political commentary, despite criticizing it, but have interests in the way society functions and therefore equate societal institutions and political ones. When it came to freedom of the press, then if it was mentioned, it was in terms of the way society has implemented it and how it affects women of the modern era and therefore why there is no explicit conclusion made about freedom of the press. | |||
Bibliography | |||
Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. Dell Publishing Company INC. 1973 | |||
Nussbaum, Martha C. 2000. Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge University Press | |||
====Postmodernism==== | ====Postmodernism==== | ||
===Are there any philosophical or moral traditions that dispute the classification of this right as a fundamental right?=== | ===Are there any philosophical or moral traditions that dispute the classification of this right as a fundamental right?=== |
Revision as of 17:19, 4 August 2022
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Association
Freedom of Religion
Voting Rights and Suffrage
Freedom of the Press
Privacy Rights
Right To Education
History
What is the oldest source in any country that mentions this right?
What is the oldest written source in this country that mentions this right? BUILD IN COLLAPSE EXPAND TOGGLE
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
The Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
The Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Republic of Ireland
Israel
Italy
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Federated States of Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Kingdom of the Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Is there another noteworthy written source from the past that mentions this right?
Is the identification of this right associated with a particular era in history, political regime, or political leader?
What specific events or ideas contributed to its identification as a fundamental right?
When was it generally accepted as a fundamental, legally-protectable right?
What historical forces or events, if any, contributed to a widespread belief in its importance?
Legal Codification
Is this right protected in the Constitutions of most countries today?
Is it contained in the US Constitution?
Has it been interpreted as being implicit in the US Constitution?
Are there any exceptions in American law to this right?
Is this right enshrined in international and regional human rights treaties?
Philosophical Origins
What have religious and philosophical traditions contributed to our understanding of this right?
Buddhism
Platonism
Aristotelian thought
Ancient Chinese Philosophy
Stoicism
Early Indian Philosophy
Miscellaneous Hellenistic Schools (epicureans, academics, skeptics, etc.)
Roman Legal and Political Thought
Early Christianity
Thomism and medieval Christianity
Medieval Islamic Thought
Medieval Judaism
Early Modern Rationalism
Absolute Idealism
Reformation Christianity
Hobbesian Thought
Lockean Thought/English Empiricism
Physiocrats
Scottish Enlightenment
Modern Capitalism
Rousseau's Thought
Kantianism
German Idealism
Benthamite Utilitarianism
Millian Utilitarianism
Current Utilitarianism
Transcendentalism
Marxism
Early Sociology
Pragmatism
Weberian Thought
Process Philosophy
Social Darwinism
British Idealism (19th cen.)
Continental Philosophy/Frankfurt School
Behaviorism
Feminist Thought
Freedom of the press is an issue proving to be more relevant in the modern era as the media influences the public and changes the way people make decisions within their life. It is for this reason that feminist theorists have briefly addressed this right as they recognize the power the press has for the feminist movement and the advancement of women's rights legally and socially. The notion of freedom of press is addressed by Betty Friedan and briefly Martha Nussbaum to explain the role the media plays when it comes to women achieving their rights and equality within society. When it comes to certain rights like freedom of press, the feminists are somewhat unclear about their stance on the issue although inferences can be made based on the implicit arguments made throughout their works.
The notion of freedom of press is interesting according to the feminist perspective because of the unclear answer they have on whether this right should exist within society. Specifically, when talking about the press, Friedan noticed that “At the first press conferences after the law went into effect, the administrator in charge of enforcing it joked about the ban on sex discrimination. ‘It will give men equal opportunity to be Playboy bunnies,’ he said” (Friedan 1973, 368). Friedan points out the problems with the media and journalism in the country to help demonstrate the power men have in most institutions in America. She notes that journalism within a nation is important and should be allowed to do as they please so long as they put the right information forward. Despite being her expectation for the media, her example of how journalism is conducted shows that society’s intention is not towards the female empowerment agenda and therefore makes it hard to make a clear statement on freedom of the press. Like the other institutions Friedan discusses, the press is riddled with oppressive people who again will not use their power to help women. As Friedan notes above, the media had the chance to help encourage the ban on sex discrimination, but instead made a joke out of it and therefore discrediting the ban that could help enforce legal equality for women. Had the media approved of the ban, then it would have been received batter by society and may have even helped create more support for women and their efforts towards equality. Furthermore, Friedan notes “In Washington I found a seething underground of women in the government, the press, and the labor unions who felt powerless to stop the sabotage of this law that was supposed to break through the sex discrimination that pervaded every industry and profession, every factory, school, and office. Some of these women felt that I, as a now known writer, could get the public’s ear” (Friedan 1973, 369). Friedan notes the blatant discrimination women face in the government and the way that they are given the low jobs that are necessary for society to work the way it does, but she also notices that these women wish to be given the proper recognition they deserve. It is for this reason that Friedan would claim that there should be a freedom of press that conveys the right and appropriate message to the public about the state that women are in. It is this underground network of women in government that get cast aside by the men in society and Friedan believes that it should be the press to rediscover and report on the work that these women do in every single organization. Friedan recognizes the power the press must tell the stories of these women and their efforts to help society while not being given the recognition they deserve. Friedan believes that if the press can report about the discrimination and the problems women face and therefore challenge society into changing their views on women, then maybe there will be a possibility for change.
It is from the brief descriptions of instances from which one can derive an answer about whether freedom of press should exist within society. Friedan writes noticeably that “In fact, the media’s, political muckrakers’, and even feminists’ obsession with such charges, which originated as an expression of women’s new empowerment, now begins to seem almost diversionary” (Friedan 1973, 7). On the other end of her discussion of the media is the harm that the media can cause for women if it does not stay on the message that is trying to be conveyed. She notes that media and the press today might distract the public from the true message at hand and pull away from achieving social justice because society might focus on the details that are not that important or necessary. In other words, she understands that people contort the facts to achieve their own intentions which might also cause problems because again it takes away from the goals and the intentions of reporting about women’s issues. In addition, speaking to rights in general, Nussbaum notes that “Thinking of this problem, then, we can insist that universal norms of religious toleration, freedom of association, and the other liberties are essential in order to prevent illiberal subgroups from threatening legitimate forms of pluralism” (Nussbaum 2000, 52). Although the freedom of press is not specifically referenced by Nussbaum, it still follows the idea that feminist theorists follow the other liberties enshrined in society leaving the space for the possibility of freedom of press despite the unclear conclusion from the feminist perspective. Specifically, it is Nussbaum’s support of pluralism that supports the notion of freedom of press since allowing people to share and report on what they like adds to the notion of being plural with one’s opinions and what they share. To the feminist perspective, any right or liberty exists, it is just about how the right or liberty is used and encouraged to either help women or reinforce the patriarchy.
What is most interesting about the feminist political theory is the way that the rights people have only retain as much importance as society has assigned to it. In other words. Feminist theorists are not so much in political commentary, despite criticizing it, but have interests in the way society functions and therefore equate societal institutions and political ones. When it came to freedom of the press, then if it was mentioned, it was in terms of the way society has implemented it and how it affects women of the modern era and therefore why there is no explicit conclusion made about freedom of the press.
Bibliography
Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. Dell Publishing Company INC. 1973
Nussbaum, Martha C. 2000. Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge University Press
Postmodernism
Are there any philosophical or moral traditions that dispute the classification of this right as a fundamental right?
What do the major legal theories (positive law, natural law, critical legal studies, etc.) say about this right?
Culture and Politics
Is this right interpreted and exercised in different ways in different countries? Focus on particular countries in which the right is interpreted distinctively
Is this right exercised in different ways depending on the political governance regime in place (democracy, autocracy, hybrid regime)?
Is there general and widespread belief that this right is a fundamental right that should generally be protected (and that exceptions should be rare)?
Does public polling reveal insights about the right as experienced in different countries?
Conflicts with other Rights
Are there other specific fundamental rights that tend to conflict with this right? Can you identify specific examples of this?
Are there other specific rights that are critical to the exercise of this right? Can you identify specific examples of this?
Is there a perception that this right is above or higher than other fundamental rights, or in general, that it has a particular place in a hierarchy of rights?
What specific examples of hierarchies, manifestos, constitutions, or prioritized descriptions of rights cite this right’s high status? Low status? No status at all?
How does federalism change, if at all, the exercise or application of this right? What examples of this can one point to?
Limitations / Restrictions
What are the typical exceptions or limitations placed on this right?
Under American jurisprudence, what permissible exceptions exist?
Under international human rights laws, what permissible exceptions (often called derogations) exist?
Have political theorists or philosophers discussed the permissibility of exceptions to this right?
Should this right be limited when limiting it would jeopardize democratic norms?
Is this right often perceived as threatening to government authorities?
Is this right often curtailed by government authorities for reasons other than those which are generally viewed as permissible?
Is this right at times curtailed by private actors?
Is this right subject to specific limitations in event of emergency (war, brief natural disaster [weather, earthquake], long-run natural disaster [volcano, fire, disease])? Can such limitations be defined in advance with reference to the disaster in question?
Utilitarian / Fairness Assessments
Is there a cost attached to protecting and enforcing this right? What kinds of costs are implicated?
Short-term economic cost in general
Long-term economic cost in general
Cost to those least able to economically absorb the cost
Cost to perceived democratic legitimacy
Cost to consistency or coherence of the law as a whole
Cost to the legitimacy or effectiveness of other rights
Cost to considerations of social equality
Cost to other non-material goods not so far specified
What are the financial consequences, if any, of making this right a legally protectable right?
Are there any groups that are uniquely disadvantaged by the exercise of this right?
Are there any groups that uniquely benefit from the exercise of this right?
Are there instances when this fundamental right can lead to unfairness or inequities?
Are there objective ways to measure the utilitarian nature of this right?
If so, where can one draw the line: when does this right stop being useful or economically viable?
Looking Ahead
How can we expect this right to change and evolve in the years ahead?
How is the future likely to shape the exercise of this right?
Will the exercise or protection of this right be affected by technological changes?
Under what conditions would this right become irrelevant?
Are questions of fairness and utility pertaining to this right likely to change in the years ahead?
Policy Recommendations
Can the practice or exercise of this right be shaped through executive action?
In the US context, are there particular parties with a stake or interest in amending or reconceptualizing this right?
In the US context, can this right be altered legislatively, or would it require a constitutional amendment?
Is this right best addressed at the national level? The sub-national level? The international level?
To what extent is this right shaped primarily by judicial decisions?
If this right is best addressed through the amendment process, how should it proceed?
If this right were unlimited, what might be the consequences (positive and negative)?
If this right were eliminated, what might be the consequences (positive and negative)?
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