What can rights discourse cover up?

Abstract

The paper presents a number of objections which have been raised against doctrines of rights, including Marx's objections to the doctrine of the 'Rights of Man', that it was entirely compatible with the social relations of capitalist domination. It argues that, whether or not rights claims can be used for redressing social wrongs depends on whether or not those claims recognise the existence of social domination. The cover-up is the extent to which rights claims ignore the social conditions of domination responsible for violating people's human rights. The paper concludes by arguing that the relations of domination of concern to feminism are those of male supremacy.