PHM-Exch> Food for a misleading historic thought

[Claudio Schuftan]

Human Rights Reader 329



*WITHOUT INDIGNATION, NOTHING BIG AND SIGNIFICANT HAPPENS IN THE HISTORY OF
HUMANITY …HUMAN RIGHTS INCLUDED. *

History should build on a thoughtful understanding of the past and the
present. But, to me, the history of development explores the pointless
extensions of the dominant paradigm. If we are prepared to reinterpret it,
it serves us with a good lesson, namely that eradicating poverty will be
impossible without addressing the inequalities and the pervasive human
rights violations that are pressing at the seams of our social fabric. Time
and again, history allows to explain-away the bad times the losers endure
in the uneven power struggle equation. In this regard, history is rife with
controversies. This is not to say that history lacks coherent arguments;
the question is discerning which of the arguments made are in-coherent.



They say that history is written by the winners. Is this a cynical
perspective? How often untrue? If true, does this mean historians claim the
moral high ground? If yes, what ground is that? Be it as it may, readers of
history prefer to read a history where the winners can claim virtue --even
in defeat or even when history has resulted in outright exploitation and
marginalization.


3. Who, then, can hold mainstream history to account and ‘rival’ it?  For
one, HR do push forward the wheels of history. Consider this: Although
inequity and inequality constantly change in history, more than any other
moral language available to us at this time in history, it is the language
of HR that exposes the immorality and barbarism of the past and modern
faces of power.

To read the full Reader, go to

http://wp.me/plAxa-1J6

Claudio
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