> ... she rejects the idea that what prevents us from harming others are their rights. The notions of rights and of the person give you nothing if unconnected with the language of our human relatedness. Rights talk doesn’t stop evil: it is more appropriately the language of commerce and legal pleading. When the language of rights is used, the relationship that we hold towards that person becomes objectifying, it transforms a cry of pain into a weight on the mute scales of justice.
https://aeon.co/essays/for-simone-weil-our-capacity-to-suffer-united-us-all
#SimoneWeil #WeilOnRights
#RoyOnRights too?

> "The idea of ‘justice’ has been replaced by the idea of human rights. This is a big and clever change in language. Talking only of human rights violations... this allows the political context, the idea of justice to be left out of the conversation.We are trying to institutionalise injustice. Justice is a thing which is just out of the imagination."
https://www.governancenow.com/views/interview/what-arundhati-roy-felt-the-idea-justice
#RoyOnRIghts #RoyOnJustice
#ArundhatiRoyOnRIghts