Why Are Some States Promoting Asian Values So Energetically
Human Rights and democracy have always created controversy and this can be said to be true in the face of the emergence of the Asian Values discourse. In order to discover why certain states are furthering these types of values we must firstly consider what constitutes Asian Values, secondly the reasons for their popularity amongst their proponents and finally the validity of their arguments. Mauzy writes, "to be sure, there is no single pan-Asian view or set of values, there is no uniform ideology, and there is no single cultural system". Indeed, in view of the diverse nature of the Asian continent it would be unrealistic to suggest all Asians prioritise the same virtues. However, the post-Cold War period has seen the states of the South Eastern region of Asia, especially Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, advance a common batch of specifically Asian Values. It is these values upon which government policies have been based and approaches to Human Rights have been justified Evans. The nature of the Asian Values espoused by the South East Asian states is similar to that of the conservative 'Victorian values' or 'protestant ethic' evident in Western society a hundred years ago. Mauzy. Indeed, the main values held here include respe
In the West, the official reasoning behind Asian Values is viewed suspiciously and accused of being invalid and corrupt. There has thus emerged a false dichotomy between the individual and society, with the former seen constantly as the victim of the latter, and the ideal task of the latter defined as being the servant of the individual. The men and women in Africa who practice CGM have the same outlook. Nevertheless, it remains to validate the juxtaposition of the occidental and oriental approaches in order to determine the significance of the Western critique of Asian Values. Legislation is restricted within the limits prescribed by the Shariah. No legislative body can revise the Quran or the Sunnah. DONNELLY - Universal Human Rights:* Narrow minded and ham handed (western and especially American) international HR policies and statements exacerbate these confusions. * Religious sacrifices and practised traditions. At the same time, the declaration questions the universal nature of human rights by asserting that rights should be considered asculturally relative, therefore putting them under state control. The State has become the embodiment of the people, and the individual has no rights or freedoms that are natural and outside the purview of the State. This doctrine has been exploited by many states, which decry any impositions of western rights as cultural imperialism. When he was sentenced to be publicly caned, there was furor in the US. In Islam, the cultural community must be served- rather than the other way round- by the political, economic and social systems. * Ethnocentrism Argument: who is to judge? Universalists say that some moral judgements are for everyone, but when asked to state them they always lists the rules of their culture.
Common topics in this essay:
Asian Values,
Cultural Relativism,
Universalism Western,
Jeremy Bentham,
John Tilley,
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE,
Professor Collomb,
Islam Discussion,
President Clinton,
Imposing HR,
human rights,
asian values,
cultural relativism,
individual rights,
south east,
east asian,
community basic,
cultural relativist,
south east asian,
economic development,
freedom western liberal,
natural rights,
* talk rights,
human rights asia,
tradition human rights,
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Acceptance Essays
