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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Human Rights Reader
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">THE RICH HAVE
POWER BECAUSE OF THEIR MONEY, AND THE POOR HAVE POWER BECAUSE OF THEIR NUMBERS
AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR ORGANIZING AROUND HUMAN RIGHTS
PRINCIPLES.</SPAN></B><SPAN
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">1. As we have said in
previous Readers, most democracies are sham democracies, where the exploited are
easily fooled, have little money and cannot push for their own
interests.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">2. Western-style electoral
democracies and outright dictatorships both reflect conflict between the elites
and the masses about their respective stake in the economic pie. Each group
wants more, but it is the elites who decide how to share it. (P. Krugman)<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">3. Large rents are
currently accruing to the elites --who strenuously resist foregoing these rents
through any kind of democratization. Giving some (trickle-down) economic
wellbeing to poor people and respecting some of their economic, social and
cultural rights may actually be an excellent opiate; it keeps the ultimate
status-quo in power relations. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">4. It is thus in the
interest of national elites to franchise a ‘laundered-concept-of-human-rights’
rather than to maintain a shaky status-quo --since subsequent developments, they
fear, could ‘equalize’ wealth through redistribution, this increasing the
ultimate costs to the same elites. We have thus to be vigilant about such mock
attempts at human rights (HR). <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">5. Laws biased towards the
elites simply strengthen their power, and in turn ensure that those laws are not
changed. Even progressive, pro-HR laws will remain words on a piece of paper
unless large and powerful constituencies in the population want to see them
enforced. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">6. Elites may not want to
cede power, but their ability to resist doing so can and must be effectively
challenged by the masses in order to overcome the status-quo; groups of poor and
marginalized people need to get together, organize and gain control over the
resources they need and thus mount a challenge. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">7. Building up social
pressure from claim holders to leverage change in the way their governments
behave is, therefore, a must. Just talking with duty bearers has a scant chance
to succeed unless there is pressure from social
movements.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Claudio Schuftan,
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Ho Chi Minh
City</st1:City></st1:place><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><A
href="mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">__________________________<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Adapted
from F+D, Vol. 43, No.3, (IMF), June 2006 and from </SPAN><SPAN lang=IT
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">D+C,Vol.
33, No 11, November 2006.</SPAN></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>