{"id":6293,"date":"2017-03-17T08:48:33","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T14:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=6293"},"modified":"2017-03-17T11:51:22","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T17:51:22","slug":"education-not-positive-human-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2017\/03\/education-not-positive-human-right.html","title":{"rendered":"Education is not a (positive) human right"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"from<\/p>\n

Perhaps you remember this from history class in school: \u00a0in the system of slavery as it existed in the American South, it was illegal to teach a slave to read or write.<\/p>\n

The State systematically denied slaves the ability to gain an education, because they believed that the ability to read and write would enable slaves to fight against their oppression. \u00a0It could be said that their human right to an education was being denied them, though it\u2019s a trivial observation when their basic human right to liberty of person was denied.<\/p>\n

But is there a universal human right to be provided with an education<\/em>? \u00a0A right to have someone else, with suitable qualifications, give you instruction, whether in basic literacy or numeracy, or multivariate calculus? \u00a0And a right to be provided, by someone else, with the relevant supplies, and classroom space that\u2019s heated as necessary, and desks and equipment? \u00a0And a right to have one\u2019s living expenses provided for, if an adult, while engaging in this process?<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

To be sure, various state constitutions claim to be guaranteeing such a right, as do the constitutions of other countries. \u00a0But what they are doing is not a matter of a pledge to respect universal human rights. \u00a0What they are doing is creating an entitlement, defining an obligation of the state and committing themselves to meet this entitlement \u2014 no differently than the pledges of the old Soviet Union constitution to a \u201cright\u201d to work, to housing, to \u201crest and leisure\u201d and so on, all of which were subject to the demands of the state. \u00a0For instance, the \u201cright to work\u201d carried with it the explicit caveat that the right to choose one\u2019s occupation was subject to the \u201cneeds of the state.\u201d \u00a0(This comes from\u00a0an old, old blog post<\/a> of mine, from shortly after I started blogging, and either the links didn\u2019t convert to the Patheos system properly or I neglected to link.)<\/p>\n

And I agree that it\u2019s appropriate for the government to take on this obligation \u2014 though I would dispute claims that it is the federal government in particular that has the obligation to provide this education, or that the government has the obligation to ensure that, however much education any individual want, be made available to them. \u00a0Not only are there practical reasons to provide a free public education \u2014 our entire society would suffer if children were dependent on their parents\u2019 willingness to pay the needed sums of money or ability to find charitable schools\u2013 but it is simply part of what government is about, to provide for the common good.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not because it\u2019s a \u201chuman right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHuman rights violators\u201d are countries in which the government imprisons or otherwise punishes people for seeking to speak out, practice their religion, assemble together, publish and share written works, or even for being a family member of such a person. \u00a0They are countries that actively oppress ethnic or religious minorities by denying access that they make available to others, restricting their ability to earn a living, taking away their rights to property, restricting their access to redress in the justice system, and through other means, including imprisonment, or indifference to others who attack them.<\/p>\n

To declare education to be a \u201chuman right\u201d means to call\u00a0every state that provides its citizenry with a (perceived) inadequate level of education a \u201chuman rights violator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, you might say that I\u2019m just quibbling, and that there is a general consensus that \u201chuman right\u201d can also mean \u201cthing which the State has the responsibility to provide for.\u201d \u00a0The state has the responsibility to ensure, insofar as it is possible, that its people do not starve, that they are not exposed to the elements due to lack of shelter, that they have provision for healthcare. \u00a0In modern terminology, you might say, these are simply labelled as the \u201cright to food, right to housing, right to healthcare\u201d \u2013 the so-called \u201cpositive human rights\u201d as distinguished from the traditional (negative) human rights which have to do with things the government may not do. \u00a0No big deal.<\/p>\n

But it does matter.<\/p>\n

Even\u00a0Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune columnist and single-payer supporter, gets it. \u00a0His column today <\/a>argues that, in the same way as basic education is a \u201cright,\u201d so, too, is healthcare \u2014 or, rather, that\u2019s the claim implied in the headline, \u201cIf basic education is a \u2018right,\u2019 why not basic health care?\u201d but the text itself is more moderate that that, writing that<\/p>\n

That the U.S. is not among those countries [enshrining healthcare as a \u201cconstitutional right\u201d] either shouldn\u2019t prevent us from aiming to provide a basic level of health care for all.<\/p>\n

Because there is civic and economic value in a healthy population.<\/p>\n

Because we know that it requires far fewer resources in the long run when we catch and treat chronic conditions early.<\/p>\n

Because we know that it\u2019s a moral abomination that the unluckiest among us face bankruptcy, death or both when medically stricken.<\/p>\n

And because we know that, to paraphrase UNESCO, good health is essential for the exercise of all other human rights. . . .<\/p>\n

It may be, however, that fightin\u2019 words are impeding that progress. Arguing for health care as a right seems to harden the resolve of those who get hung up on semantics.<\/p>\n

Better to argue that expanding Medicare-like protections to everyone is a responsibility. Providing quality health care is an obligation to our fellow man. It\u2019s a joint investment in our shared future, that, like our joint investment in education, will benefit us all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Debates about \u201crights\u201d take us to dead-ends. \u00a0Debates about responsibilities of governments, and responsibilities of us all to our fellow man \u2014 these get us somewhere. \u00a0How do we, as a society, collectively, act to ensure that people without means have their basic material needs met when they\u2019re unable to do so for themselves? \u00a0How do we, in general, balance the need for individual human responsibility, with the fact that it\u2019s better for people to get their cavities filled<\/a> than become toothless? \u00a0 How far do these responsibilities extend \u2014 to sameness of provision or the minimal meeting of needs?<\/p>\n

And, beyond this, how should our economic system be structured, to give people the best chance of providing for their needs? \u00a0It seems to me that focusing on \u201crights\u201d\u00a0of people to receive basic provision take us in the wrong direction on this question \u2014 because they presume direct state provision, in all cases, and disasters like Venezuela.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image: \u00a0children in a classroom. \u00a0from flickr: https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/wwworks\/15344079560; by woodleywonderworks; Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps you remember this from history class in school: \u00a0in the system of slavery as it existed in the American South, it was illegal to teach a slave to read or write. 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