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Preserving and Enhancing Human Rights and Dignity


As we near the end of this survey of world politics, it is appropriate to pause momentarily to remember that, amid all the sound and fury, politics ought to be about maintaining or improving the quality of life of people. We have been exploring whether the traditional state-based international system that operates on self-interested competition can best protect and enhance humanity or whether the alternative of global cooperation in an international system with reduced sovereignty will lead to a more felicitous future. This and the next chapter continue that inquiry by addressing the human rights and social dignity of the world’s people and the condition of the biosphere that they inhabit. These two topics are closely linked because the future rests in considerable part on how well the political system nurtures its two most valuable assets: people and the biosphere. First, this chapter will address preserving and enhancing human rights and dignity by looking at efforts to provide for the human body and spirit. Then, chapter 16 will take up environmental concerns and programs.


  • Explain why politics and economics are intertwined aspects of international relations by participating in a scenario in which you assess the global competitiveness of specific countries before you decide to invest in producing, marketing, and installing your cable company in a new location.


  • Study the economies of the South and their current political issues, then take a survey in which you assess the role of the LDCs in the world economy.


  • Discuss the arguments for and against free international economic interchange by analyzing the role of NAFTA in increasing trade among its members, removing tariffs, and helping the Mexican economy.


  • Use the table to compare the economic indicators of countries around the world.


  • Review additional national economic issues by using the Web links provided.






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