European Union-China: Two Asymmetrical Weltanschauungs about Human Rights. Remarks on the United States Concept of Human Rights
Mots-clés :
Asymmetries, cultural background, European, Union-China, human rights, Weltanschauungs, xiaokang (小康)Résumé
This article compares the respective conceptions about human rights in the European Union and in China, and makes several remarks on the view of human rights in the United States, analyzing the similarities and differences with the two above mentioned systems. But we also delve into the causes for the conceptual gap between both sides. Cultural background determines the conception of human rights. Hence, human rights are asymmetrical between different countries or civilizations. We analyze the causes and effects of the said phenomenon. As there is no such thing as a European Constitution, we compare Germany’s Basic Law (as the Constitution of one of the EU member states) with China’s Constitution; we analyze the importance each system attaches to the different groups of human rights. We deepen into the Chinese schedule for the attainmen of the respective levels of social welfare. The Chinese link between human rights and livelihoo is other of the aspects we study. Whereas in the EU and in the US political rights are paramount, China attaches greatest importance to reaching certain socio-economic standards. We conclude our article evaluating the possible trends in the development
of international law.
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