Human Rights Theory Vs Instrumental Theory Essay

Two approaches to the justification of rights, namely status-based theory and instrumental theory will be explained. The first, rooted in natural rights theory of enlightenment period, argues that in pre-political state of nature, men have certain unalienable rights such as rights to liberty, life and private property and hence under the governance of the state, these fundamental and natural rights should be protected and respected. The right to do a certain act, therefore, has not to be depended on interests which it brings about. Instrumental theories, influenced by utilitarianism, describe rights as instruments for achieving an optimal distribution of advantages. The optimal distribution is what contains the greatest aggregate utility. …show more content…
As an example, if the rights are not dependent on interest and utility (according to status-based rights theories), we are not, then, allowed to torture a terrorist to save the life of many innocent people. If utility matters (according to instrumental approaches), do no we step into a slippery slope so that after while torture becomes a normal act of the police. Or if the rights are used as an instrument, as instrumental theories tend to see, how can we then justify the rights to do wrong acts (such as having unhealthy lifestyle) which do not harm others? Moreover, which metrics they use to calculate the …show more content…
Laws, as explained before, are forced by a higher governmental office and if one breaks the law she can be prosecuted. As mentioned before, laws should be compatible with human fundamental rights. But everyone can set up rules for her own group and people are free to accept the rules and join the group (e.g. a company, a restaurant, a club etc.). If a worker, therefore, is obliged to wear a certain dress code at work, it is not against her right to clothing because she has already accepted the rule by signing the job contract in which the rule has been