Book Review by Stephen M. Griffin
As its title implies, Rex Martin's A System of Rights is a systematic, careful elaboration of a theory of rights. Influenced in part by the British political philosopher T.H. Green, Martin presents a social-institutional theory of rights and provides an account of the relationship of rights to democratic institutions. In presenting his theory, Martin challenges a number of traditional perspectives in this area of political philosophy. He effectively criticizes the standard account of political obligation, Joel Feinberg's influential theory of rights as valid claims, and the idea that a conflict exists between democratic majority rule and civil rights. Martin also presents his own theory of political obligation (or political allegiance, as he calls it), as well as a theory of punishment.
In the course of presenting his theory of rights, Martin discusses a diverse set of topics and presents many arguments. I cannot discuss all these topics within the scope of this Review; instead, I will provide an overview of his theory and then comment briefly on his arguments concerning human rights.
About the Author
Stephen M. Griffin. W.R. Irby Chair and Rutledge C. Clement Jr. Professor in Constitutional Law, Tulane Law School.
Citation
68 Tul. L. Rev. 1689 (1994)