Human Rights and European Politics

The free movement of labour will be one of the key elements of the Single Market soon to be implemented, One would therefore expect that efforts would have been made to harmonize social policies, especially on the legal status of workers. But the existing EC Treaty contains no provision and the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers of 1989 fails to fill the gap. The Charter delegates the socio-political responsibility in almost all points to the member states. Yet the constitutions of most refer to general human rights only. The author here stresses the importance of economic and social human rights which, like human rights in general, have their roots in the Enlightenment, especially in the works of Montesquieu, Adam Smith and Kant. The author examines how these thinkers' ideas on these topics have been neglected since the 19th century snd argues that it is time to revive them. In this context he discusses such current and hotly debated issues as ownership of the product of work, workers' determination, strikes and lockouts. He concludes that it is vital for the Single Market to extend human rights to the social and economic spheres. An appendix of key documents, otherwise difficult to access and some of which are available in English for the first time, enhance this important volume.