What's Wrong with Rights? addresses the paradox of rights on the political left. On the one hand, the left is critical of capitalist triumphalism in the wake of so-called 'globalisation', on the other hand this critique is often couched in the idea of rights - to water, to housing, to free speech, to assembly. Yet, what becomes of this discourse when capitalist triumphalism itself rides on the crest of rights? When the rights discourse itself is an integral part of the international liberal order?
Radha D'Souza aims to bridge the gap between the normative discourse about rights and their institutional context. Her work sets out to establish the connection between the rights discourse and modern transnational monopoly finance capitalism; interrogating the easy association of rights with ideas about freedom and justice.
Drawing on the experience of social movements across the globe, she confronts contemporary rights theory with the experiences and aspirations of struggles for national liberation and socialism. What's Wrong with Rights? is a unique and important contribution to the literature on rights which will challenge many preconceived positions across the political spectrum.
