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12 - The United States

A Ragged Patchwork

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Cathy Albisa  and
Jessica Schultz
Edited by
Malcolm Langford
Malcolm Langford
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo
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Summary

INTRODUCTION

The United States government is infamously reticent to recognise economic and social rights on the international stage. Domestically, these rights are not currently recognised by the national constitution, and their enjoyment is primarily determined by legislative fiat. With a few significant exceptions, the concept of economic and social rights has not taken root in the popular imagination, making legislative assaults on social protection possible without any serious political costs.

Given the socio-economic indicators in the United States, which include the highest rate of child poverty among wealthy countries, and severe gaps in access to health care, there is a pressing need to develop stronger jurisprudence in this arena so as to buttress basic levels of protection against perpetual changes in the political winds. This article reviews avenues used by advocates to develop such jurisprudence, as well as emerging and promising long-range strategies. In particular, Section 2 outlines the history of economic and social rights in the United States, Section 3 reviews the federal constitutional framework in relation to these rights, and Section 4 explores work to date at the sub-national level in individual state constitutions.

HISTORY OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES

It is generally agreed that the drafters of the U.S. Constitution were primarily concerned with curbing the abuse of government power.

Type
Chapter
Information
Social Rights Jurisprudence
Emerging Trends in International and Comparative Law
 , pp. 230 - 249
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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