•  81
    The substantive dimension of deliberative practical rationality
    Philosophy and Social Criticism 31 (2): 185-210. 2005.
    The aim of this paper is to propose a model for understanding the relation between substance and procedure in discourse ethics and deliberative democracy capable of answering the common charge that they involve an ‘empty formalism’. The expressive-elaboration model introduced here answers this concern by arguing that the deliberative practical rationality presupposed by discourse ethics and deliberative democracy involves the creation of a practical medium in which certain general basic ideas of…Read more
  •  234
    Response to my Critics
    Les ateliers de l'éthique/The Ethics Forum 8 (2): 121-132. 2013.
  •  165
    Is There a Human Right to Democracy? A Response to Joshua Cohen
    Revista Latinoamericana de Filosofía Política 1 (2): 1-37. 2012.
    Is democracy a human right? There is a growing consensus within international legal and political practice that the answer is “Yes.” However, some philosophers doubt that we should see democracy as a human right. In this paper I respond to the most systematic challenge presented so far, which was recently offered by Joshua Cohen. His challenge is directed to the view that democracy is a human right, not to the view that democracy is part of what justice demands. It is instructive because it forc…Read more
  •  606
    Humanist and Political Perspectives on Human Rights
    Political Theory 39 (4): 439-467. 2011.
    This essay explores the relation between two perspectives on the nature of human rights. According to the "political" or "practical" perspective, human rights are claims that individuals have against certain institutional structures, in particular modern states, in virtue of interests they have in contexts that include them. According to the more traditional "humanist" or "naturalistic" perspective, human rights are pre-institutional claims that individuals have against all other individuals in …Read more
  • Comentario Bibliografico (review)
    Revista Latinoamericana de Filosofia 32 (1): 114-119. 2006.
  •  55
    Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy (review)
    with Roberto Gargarella
    Social Theory and Practice 34 (4): 640-647. 2008.
  •  488
    The duty to eradicate global poverty: Positive or negative?
    Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 7 (5): 537-550. 2005.
    In World Poverty and Human Rights, Thomas Pogge argues that the global rich have a duty to eradicate severe poverty in the world. The novelty of Pogges approach is to present this demand as stemming from basic commands which are negative rather than positive in nature: the global rich have an obligation to eradicate the radical poverty of the global poor not because of a norm of beneficence asking them to help those in need when they can at little cost to themselves, but because of their having …Read more
  •  3830
    Reflections on Human Rights and Power
    In Adam Etinson (ed.), Human Rights: Moral or Political?, Oxford University Press. pp. 375-399. 2018.
    Human rights are particularly relevant in contexts in which there are significant asymmetries of power, but where these asymmetries exist the human rights project turns out to be especially difficult to realize. The stronger can use their disproportionate power both to threaten others’ human rights and to frustrate attempts to secure their fulfillment. They may even monopolize the international discussion as to what human rights are and how they should be implemented. This paper explores this te…Read more