Mar 27, 2020
Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. The rise of human rights as an international ideal has not only failed to address the longstanding problem of distributional equity, argues historian SAMUEL MOYN, but has coincided with burgeoning economic inequality both within nations and globally. In his far-ranging conversation with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, Moyn points to the compatibility of the human rights agenda, with its emphases on status equality and sufficient (but not equal) provision, with the market fundamentalism that has guided policymakers throughout the world since the 1970s. While acknowledging the limits of the welfare states that preceded this shift, Moyn calls for a return to the ideals and movements, such as the labor movement and Socialism, that made economic equality a priority. Moyn is the author, most recently, of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World. Note: This interview was conducted via Zoom on January 31, 2020.