Pogge

I first wanted to comment on Mike's post-I like the numbers too. It is very easy to follow! :)

At the beggining of chapter 2, Pogge writes: "Many are therefore inclined to believe that our human rights are whatever governments agree them to be."
This was very interesting because I feel like the average person in America might have the same notion of his or her rights. Of course, I have not done enough research, but when I look back to a few months ago my perception was the same. Before taking this class, if one asked me what rights I had, I would have automaticlly thought of the Constiution and rights contained inside.
Pogge then goes to explain how we came to believe we have certain moral or human rights. I really liked his explanation of "official disrespect". "Such wrongs do not merely deprive their victims of the objects of their rights, but attack those very rights themselves; they do not merely subvert what is right, but the very idea of right and justice" (59). By addressing the issue from this perspective, human rights violations are concernes of everyone. On page 63, Pogge discusses the socioeconomic factors that might aid in the violation of human rights. He writes that servants are often illiterate and ignorant to their legal rights, thus they are unable to change their situations. In order to relieve some of the problem, we should expand literacy, knowledge of existing legal rights, shelters for dismissed servants, unemolyment benefits for the poor, etc.
Although this truly sounds ideal, it does not seem plausible. Societies where this kind of servitude takes place do not seem like the ones that would give a damn about unemployment benefits and such. Servitude is most likely present in agrarian and growing economies, in placed that are in dire need of labor. The servants are aware of their poor conditions, but do not want to place themselves in worse ones by rebelling and demanding respect. Now, I wish I could miraculously propose a better way of solving this problem, but I cannot. Pogge's proposition is a good one; literacy and social improvements are always positive, but I don't think it can so easily solve the servants' problems.

Socioeconomic rights are currently and by far the most frequently unfullfiled human rights (91). Pogge claims that because of these peoples' economic powerlessness (sp), they are less likely to cause their leaders any trouble. This leaves the door wide open for further downgrade of their living conditions. How does capitalism play a role in this "mess"? I have been thinking about that throughout this book, and I can't seem to make up my mind. Even in communist societies, for example, powerty was still a large issue. Constantly there were shortages of goods, and people were lacking some common items for every day life.

I read page 97 several times. I got the chills each time, and I feel sick to my stomach. How can we be so oblivious? How can I complain?
It is depressing to see how little media coverage there is of this kind of suffering. Sure, there are books and movies about the Holocaust, Mao's Great Leap Forward and the Rawanda killings. Where are the portrayals of every day lives of people. The stories told are done so in a way that makes suffering seem like a thing of the past. The world needs to know take account of people's starvation, malnutrition, and sickness as a part of their regular lives.

THE WORLD'S 200 RICHEST PEOPLE MORE THAN DOUBLED THEIR NET WORTH IN THE FOUR YEARS TO 1998, TO MORE THAN $1 TRILLION. THE ASSETS OF THE TOP THREE BILLIONAIRES ARE MORE THAN THE COMBINED GNP OF ALL LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND THEIR 600 MILLION PEOPLE.