One is selective enforcement. There are a long list of countries with abysmal human rights records, but it’s too strategically convenient or economically essential to look the other way. Whrn was the last time they made a fuss about Jamal Khashoggi? Human rights only gets invoked when sabre-rattling is useful, not as a solid and consistent moral framework.
The other is that it’s a “luxury product”. Can every country support a modern human-rights model, or does it require a certain level of economic and political stability? It’s hard to maintain rule of law amid active insurgency, or if you can’t even deploy the bureaucratic state. Once you’ve gotten past that threshold, will both leaders and the broader population be eager to switch from the system that got them where they are? You’ve got to convince people that being able to write an anti-government op-ed is more important than security, or the price of eggs. This is a long term soft sell: berating countries for not measuring up to Western standards isn’t going to get them to make that choice any faster.
You have a point, i wonder if Russia could have industrialised as fast if it didn’t make use of every labor and resources present
Not to mention that communist societies have been scrutinized, down to every atom, especially because it contrasts fully with capitalism
My personal belief is better reform than revolution, but with an imperialist power like USA and maybe even Russia and China if you count them it is essentially impossible.
but with an imperialist power like USA and maybe even Russia and China if you count them
It would be silly to discount Russia and China’s imperialism. They’re both on the level of the US, they just lack the power projection to be as bad as the US. But the actions they’ve taken with the level of power projection they have show that fact.
There are two issues with human rights.
One is selective enforcement. There are a long list of countries with abysmal human rights records, but it’s too strategically convenient or economically essential to look the other way. Whrn was the last time they made a fuss about Jamal Khashoggi? Human rights only gets invoked when sabre-rattling is useful, not as a solid and consistent moral framework.
The other is that it’s a “luxury product”. Can every country support a modern human-rights model, or does it require a certain level of economic and political stability? It’s hard to maintain rule of law amid active insurgency, or if you can’t even deploy the bureaucratic state. Once you’ve gotten past that threshold, will both leaders and the broader population be eager to switch from the system that got them where they are? You’ve got to convince people that being able to write an anti-government op-ed is more important than security, or the price of eggs. This is a long term soft sell: berating countries for not measuring up to Western standards isn’t going to get them to make that choice any faster.
You have a point, i wonder if Russia could have industrialised as fast if it didn’t make use of every labor and resources present
Not to mention that communist societies have been scrutinized, down to every atom, especially because it contrasts fully with capitalism
My personal belief is better reform than revolution, but with an imperialist power like USA and maybe even Russia and China if you count them it is essentially impossible.
It would be silly to discount Russia and China’s imperialism. They’re both on the level of the US, they just lack the power projection to be as bad as the US. But the actions they’ve taken with the level of power projection they have show that fact.