Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History

This pioneering volume explores the long-neglected history of social rights, from the Middle Ages to the present. It debunks the myth that social rights are 'second-generation rights' – rights that appeared after World War II as additions to a rights corpus stretching back to the Enlightenment. Not only do social rights stretch back that far; they arguably pre-date the Enlightenment. In tracing their long history across various global contexts, this volume reveals how debates over social rights have often turned on deeper struggles over social obligation – over determining who owes what to whom, morally and legally. In the modern period, these struggles have been intertwined with questions of freedom, democracy, equality and dignity. Many factors have shaped the history of social rights, from class, gender and race to religion, empire and capitalism. With incomparable chronological depth, geographical breadth and conceptual nuance, Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History sets an agenda for future histories of human rights.

From the philosophy of corporate social responsibility to the market and political realities of ESG

The theory of corporate social responsibility, ideologically formed in the USA in the second half of the twentieth century, significantly influenced both the practice of international business and the views of scientists in the field of economics and sociology. The moral obligation of corporations to participate in solving social problems, in charity, educational and cultural projects began to be perceived as something ordinary, as a kind of voluntary social tax. At the same time, representatives of a number of economic schools have long criticized this approach, believing, firstly, that the principal goal of big business is the growth of shareholders’ capital, and secondly, such a social obligation looks very amorphous, assuming only reputational costs for an entrepreneur in case of his evasion from the implementation of CSR programs. In our opinion, the situation is currently changing dramatically. This approach is being radically transformed under the influence of ESG ideas and practices, whose standards become structured and mandatory for companies in case of their access to premium markets.

Older Adults Pursue More Autonomy During Pandemic: An Explanation by Social Obligation

Older adults are considered more vulnerable under the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the pandemic also highlights the social obligation of all individuals, young and old. We investigated whether older adults pursued more autonomy during the pandemic than did middle-aged adults, and the moderating effect of perceived social obligation. One hundred and twenty-three Hong Kong citizens (62 females, Mage=60.59±13.28 years old) participated in this study in 2018 (before pandemic) and 2020 (during pandemic). Comparing these two waves, the results showed a larger increase of perceived importance of independence and autonomy among older adults than among middle-aged adults. Moreover, the age difference became stronger with a higher increase in expectation on social obligation, suggesting that the pandemic might make older adults feel more socially obligated to be independent and autonomous, so as not to be a burden on others. Future ageism-related studies should take the social obligation of older adults into consideration.

Physical Education and Sport between Human Rights, Duties, and Obligations—Observations from Germany

The starting point entails the declarations of the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO and the Council of Europe on sport as a human right. This article adopts a philosophical and historical perspective on the question of which duties, obligations, and constraints stand in the way of realising this utopian perspective of fair and humane sport as a general human right. The work is based on central historical documents and writings. Two strands of argumentation are pursued. Firstly, the introduction of compulsory physical education, particularly in Germany and on the European continent, in the context of nation-building since the 19th century. Secondly, the idea of a world of sport of its own, which emerged from Olympism and was intended to assert itself against political and economic appropriations. Compulsory physical education is not a human right but a duty. The idea of a world of sports of its own has produced further regulations and obligations in certain fields of sports like professional and commercial sports. Doing sport for health and fitness may become a social obligation.

Self-construal priming does not shift self-descriptions, value endorsement, or social obligation judgment: A preregistered replication and extension of Gardner, Gabriel, & Lee (1999)

Humans from different cultures define the self differently, but how cultures influence self-construal—beliefs about the self—remains elusive. Do cultures mold our way of perceiving, thinking, feeling, and acting, much into a habit through cultural practices and daily routines (habit mechanism)? Or do cultures merely modify the accessibility of a certain way of perceiving, thinking, feeling, and acting, just as one’s thoughts constantly change on a daily basis based on the current motive and situation (access mechanism)? A highly influential line of work in cultural priming—self-construal priming—suggests that reading different story primes (reflecting either independent or interdependent thought processes) or circling different types of pronouns in word-search primes (either independent [e.g., I, mine] or interdependent [e.g., we, ours] pronouns) can shift self-descriptions, value endorsement, and social obligation judgment (Gardner, Gabriel, & Lee, 1999). In this preregistered replication and extension study, despite efforts to maximize priming and to identify moderators, we found that self-construal priming, either through story primes or word-search primes, did not change the relative independence or interdependence of one’s self-construal in Chinese participants. Priming was also not modulated by gender, experience living aboard, rice vs. wheat farming legacy, or self-reported earnestness in answering the questions. Thus, the predominant access afforded by cultures is much less malleable than previously assumed, consistent with the habit but not access mechanism of cultural influences. To build a cumulative and reproducible cultural psychology, we call for direct replications of key findings in cultural priming and related literature.

Traditional Rural Society

A constant source in academic discussion of guanxi is a book, universally regarded as a template for understanding guanxi, first published in 1947 by Fei Xiaotong. The relevance of Fei’s model is critically assessed in the chapter. It demonstrates that Fei’s account of Chinese social relationships draws upon an idealized Confucianism rather than empirically-grounded social analysis. The discussion shows that Fei ignores non-kin relations in rural society, and an account of their importance is provided. A problem with Fei’s account of social obligation is identified. A proposed solution distinguishes between obligations generated through role compliance and obligations arising from exchange relations. Finally, it is shown that guanxi requires a notion of instrumental self-interest, absent in Fei’s account, and that interested action in guanxi operates through enhancing social standing or face, about which Fei has nothing to say. In this way the chapter clears the ground for discussion in subsequent chapters.

The Obligation Is the Point

This article examines how grassroots refugee-activists and ‘solidarians’ in Greece articulate a collectivist political vision and praxis of care through an expanding network of social obligation that upends narrow understandings of refugees’ ‘basic’ rights and moral obligations of care. The refugees draw on a wide range of universalising collectivist frames including Islamic, Anarcho-Marxist and Palestinian-liberationist frames to articulate visions of solidarity and nurture trust and mutual care amongst refugees.

Being milos

This chapter examines the semantic ramifications of the Romanian term milă (pity, compassion, empathy) and the type of intersubjective relationships it evokes. It is shown that in Ceuaş the milă structures several types of relationships: those that are based on disinterested generosity and compassion; on social obligation and the power dynamics of the Roma community; and on the clever subterfuges that are required of Roma interacting with Gaje. According to the Roma of Ceuaş, “being milos” (empathic) is a central feature of their identity and it explains why they cry so often with music. It is suggested that the Roma of Ceuaş may be considered an “emotional minority,” at odds with the organization of affects in the Gaji (non-Roma) society.