Summary
Rather, he focused on the fact that reforming Singapore's staid image is necessary to attract foreign investment and educated immigrants who can further develop Singapore as a hub for science, technology, and financial services.6 For those who monitor human rights developments in Asia, Lee's remarks should come as no surprise.7 Government leaders in places like Singapore and Hong Kong have publicly donned their racing bibs for the race to the top. Both governments, for example, commissioned studies on how their respective cities could better attract the global "creative class," the mobile professionals who are essential to economic growth and have strong preferences for certain human rights protections, including sexual orientation rights.8 While policymakers in Asia were racing, human rights advocates were cheering from the sidelines.
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Extract
Human Rights and Globalization: Putting the Race to the Top in Perspective[Dagger]
INTRODUCTION
David Law paints a heartening picture in his engaging article Globalization and the Future of Constitutional Rights.1 Globalization, he argues, promotes the protection of human rights: "[A]s capital and skilled labor become increasingly mobile, countries will face a growing incentive to compete for both by offering bundles of human and economic rights that are attractive to investors and elite workers."2 Law predicts that this competition will resemble a "race to the top" of the rights terrain.3While I generally agree with Law's descriptive argument, I caution against the optimism behind a "race to the top" metaphor. My optimism is qualified because I question the strength and sustainability of human rights protections derived primarily from economic interests, as opposed to normative principles concerning human dignity.4This Essay unfolds in three parts. In Part I, I draw from my experiences in Asia not only to support Law's claim, but also to put it in perspective by introducing the potential limitations of human rights protections derived from economic interests. Part II elaborates on the limited reach of rights reforms stimulated by states' desires to enhance market competitiveness. This Par...See the full content of this document
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