The Future of Social and Economic Rights

Abstract Social and economic (SE) rights are at a critical juncture. The past two decades have seen an impressive rise in their presence both in domestic and international jurisprudence and in political discourse, so much so that they can now be considered to have drawn even with civil and political rights as the dominant global human rights concern. Yet, as a succession of financial and general economic crises have afflicted states in the global North and South alike, questions have begun to be asked about their actual impact on both minimum living standards and (in)equality. This chapter seeks to provide an overview of where the debate on SE rights stands at this moment. It focuses on the current standards of monitoring and enforcement, on the ‘turn to indicators’ and the measurement of SE rights fulfilment, the domestic SE ‘rights revolution’ and the ongoing debate about its impact on core social policy areas such as public health, on the role of SE rights in international development cooperation through the ‘rights-based approach’, and on the recent mobilization of SE rights against austerity politics. The chapter will conclude with a reflection on the future of SE rights as a utopian vision in an increasingly dystopian world.