The invention of human rights. Story. Hunt L.

The idea of ​​human rights first arose and was formulated at the end of the 18th century in the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of Human Rights and Citizen. But why did the new ethical standards of politicians have formed then? What role did the abolition of torture and cruel punishments play in this process? And as the novels of J.-J. Rousseau, S. Richardson and L. Stern helped expand the social boundaries of empathy? Answering in the book to these questions, Lynn Hunt reconstructs the stormy history of human rights and shows how its ups and downs is reflected in our ability to protect these rights today.

The author describes the beginning of the struggle for the idea of ​​universal human rights and analyzes the reasons why it suffers defeat during the period of rise in nationalism in the 19th century. In the final part of the book, Hunt shows how, after the global catastrophes of the 20th century, the highest heyday of this idea comes in 1948 in connection with the proclamation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and then analyzes the provision of human rights in the modern world.

Lynn Hunt-an American historian, professor of the University of California at Los Angeles.