Civilising Globalisation: Human Rights and the Global Economy

Economic globalisation and universal human rights both have the aspiration and power to improve and enrich individuals and communities. However, their respective institutions, methods, practices and goals differ, leading to both detrimental clashes and beneficial synergies. David Kinley analyses how human rights intersect with the trade, aid and commercial dimensions of global economic relations, taking the view that, while the global economy is a vitally important civilising instrument, it itself requires civilising according to human rights standards.

Combining meticulous research with highly informed views and experiences, he outlines the intellectual, policy and practical frameworks for ensuring that the global economy advances the ends of human rights, argues for better exploitation of the global economy’s capacity to distribute as well as create wealth, and proposes mechanisms by which to minimise and manage the socially debilitating effects of its market failures and financial meltdowns.

• Blends the disciplines of economics, human rights, law and politics to produce a coherent thesis of what needs to be done to make sure that the global economy serves the interests of the many and not just the few
• Provides readers with the philosophical tools, the facts and the figures to explain how economic aid can better protect the human rights of the poor
• Explores the responsibilities of global economic actors to respect people’s human rights, building a persuasive case for why and how these duties ought to be reconfigured and enforced
• Draws on a wide range of illuminating cases, materials and arguments to demonstrate how, in the wake of a global financial crisis, human rights responsibilities can be met while simultaneously promoting global economic growth