Organised by Citizens for Public Justice
Campaigns against poverty use human rights language, such as the right to food and shelter, to press for changes in public policy. These rights, called sustenance rights, have a long history in religious thought, but they do not fit easily in contemporary free market societies, which consider property rights as foundational. Can sustenance rights and property rights, which often come into conflict, be reconciled? Joe Gunn, Executive Director of Citizens for Public Justice, will discuss the current Dignity for All campaign as an attempt to reclaim the rights of people marginalized in our economic system. Michael DeMoor will discuss alternative ways to approach the concepts of property rights and sustenance rights and the challenges our market society poses for the pursuit of a broader concept of public justice.
