The concept of rights has become central to modern political argument. This book introduces the reader to some of the most recent political and philosophical theorizing on rights, while placing those theories within historical traditions. It focuses on examining rights discourse as a reflection of the patterns people employ when thinking about politics, and links rights with other key political concepts. The book investigates the doctrine of natural rights and its critiques, explores the distinction between choice and welfare rights, suggests an area of compatibility between rights theory and utilitarianism and assesses the contents of contemporary rights documents. It argues for an appreciation of the multiple meanings contained in rights discourse, but it also offers a plausible interpretation of rights which seeks to combine individualist and communitarian concerns and to extend the concept to cover all significant aspects of human flourishing.

Michael Freeden is Fellow and Tutor in Politics at Mansfield College, Oxford. Among his books are The New Liberalism (Oxford 1978) and Liberalism Divided: A Study in British Political Thought 1914-1939 (Oxford, 1986). He is the editor of Reappraising J.A. Hobson (London, 1990) and has written numerous articles on political theory.