Basic Rights

By Henry Shue,

Book cover of Basic Rights: Subsistence, Affluence, and U.S. Foreign Policy

Book description

An expanded and updated edition of a classic work on human rights and global justice

Since its original publication, Basic Rights has proven increasingly influential to those working in political philosophy, human rights, global justice, and the ethics of international relations and foreign policy, particularly in debates regarding foreign policy's…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Basic Rights as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book questions orthodoxies that need questioning. Shue argues that rights to the goods one needs to survive (like food, potable water, and clean air) are just as morally urgent and just as important to protect as rights to bodily security.

He offers a bold defense of the moral imperative to ensure everyone in the world has their most important rights, including rights to subsistence goods, protected. This, in turn, has significant implications for US foreign policy. It shows the status quoin which states like the US retain massive amounts of wealth, safeguarding their own citizens’ pursuit of…

Want books like Basic Rights?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Basic Rights.

Browse books like Basic Rights

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in international relations, diplomacy, and human rights?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about international relations, diplomacy, and human rights.

International Relations Explore 261 books about international relations
Diplomacy Explore 26 books about diplomacy
Human Rights Explore 67 books about human rights