Humanitarianism and Universalism
In the article "Women and Cultural Universals," Martha Nussbaum discusses about basic human capabilities that should be granted to every human being regardless of their sex, race, or religion. However, a problem arises with reaching such basic rights since every nation has their own definition of this matter. In order for these basic human capabilities to be accepted throughout the world, nations ought to reach a generalized consensus on what rights an average human should have, rights that ought to transcend cultural traditions and religious "barriers." All in all, the point of Nussbaum's basic human capabilities list is to "put forward something that people from many different traditions, with many different fuller conceptions of good, can agree on, as the necessary basis for pursuing their good life" (462). There is a similarity of this ideology with Mary Kaldor's global humanitarian approach. Even though both ideologies attempt to stabilize certain situations in troubled nations, they have different approaches. Nussbaum believes that her list of basic human capabilities should be implemented into every nation, especially those nations that are currently violating the rights of their inh
In other words, a global humanitarian approach would require nations to monitor any "shady" activities throughout the world. In conclusion, the basic human capabilities list affect nations by imposing views, which may not be favorable to a nation. Nations should not be "indifferent to the struggles of individuals who have to try to exercise their basic human rights in a hostile environment" (Nussbaum 467). What makes our world such a special place is the uniqueness of nations. If nations' rules were amended to accommodate parts of Nussbaum's list, then a global humanitarian approach could be reached. If Nussbaum's list brought a worldwide uniformity, there would not be a Western or Eastern culture, but a single unified culture sharing same values, in other words, we would live in utopian world. In certain nations, this list would be defying their beliefs and religions. Nussbaum's idea of basic human rights implemented on every nation would be somewhat like a worldwide democracy. Another issue that arises with Nussbaum's list is the Western versus Eastern culture clash. The majority of women in such states have conformed to this lifestyle, only a few defiant women remain to challenge such "chauvinistic" tradition. Kaldor's global humanitarian approach would not be a threat to a nation's traditions. "The basic intuition from which the capability approach starts, in the political arena, is that human capabilities exert a moral claim that they should be developed" (Nussbaum 465). The world would be dull and uninteresting without this variety. According to Nussbaum, humans have the right "to live and not die prematurely or before one's life is so reduced as to be not worth living" (Nussbaum 463) However, this conflicts with the idea of "being able to imagine, to think, and to reason" (Nussbaum 463).
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Acceptance Essays
