3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Serious and Informed Attempt to Build a Better World, July 3, 2010
Professor J. Kirk Boyd's book, 2048: Humanity's Agreement to Live Together, is about a grand idea, perhaps the grandest idea that humanity has dared to dream about: what if all humanity was able to agree to a Bill of Human Rights, make it legally enforceable, and then live by it?
The year 2048 will be the 100th anniversary of the date that all members of the United Nations in 1948 signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). There are 30 articles in the UDHR, some of which few would object to (freedom of speech, freedom from discrimination based on race, color, language, religion, birth, country of origin, freedom of religion), and some that would face a tough go (the right to employment, the right to rest and leisure, the right to an education that "shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms"). Professor Boyd boils the 30 articles down to Five Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear, and Freedom for the Environment.
Professor Boyd's bold proposition is that by 2048, humanity will craft an agreed upon document regarding basic human rights (i.e. the original declaration will be replaced by a document that is the result of a collaborative effort from people from all countries in the world) that is legally enforceable in every corner of the planet. The year 2048 would see, said differently, the full and legally enforceable implementation of the Five Freedoms.
No one will accuse Professor Boyd of thinking small. Many will undoubtedly accuse him of having taken leave of his senses. Dr. Boyd is a lawyer/professor who teaches international human rights, free speech, civil rights, and constitutional law at the University of California, Berkeley, which is to say he is well grounded in the topics that he addresses. Does he seriously think that 38 years from now humans might be able to eschew war and achieve a Pax Humana? He absolutely does, and the book 2048 spells out in detail how he, and many others working with him, envision it happening.
The book (192 pages, approx. 80,000 words) is well worth the read. The historical review of the efforts to obtain universal human rights, in and of itself, makes the time well spent. Boyd's massively inclusive approach to developing an enforceable document of human rights, an approach that includes an open invitation to the people of all countries, as well as to school children, to contribute their thoughts, is innovative and thought-provoking. Boyd's outright rejection of the notion that humans are doomed to endlessly repeat the cycle of war and violence is refreshing and heartening. Boyd also introduces concepts that I hadn't personally run across before, such as "the veil of ignorance" (John Rawls, Theory of Justice). Rawls' concept just might be the lever that, combined with the fulcrum of a desire for better world for all, can move the planet. The "veil of ignorance" concept asks "What if we were all stripped of our nationality, our cultures, our skin colors, our religions, our biases, and that having being done, we were asked to design a system of justice from scratch?" Put another way (my own), what if the first spaceship to leave Earth, thousands of humans on board, set out to colonize a new planet? What Constitution for a New Planet would these colonists, able to draw from the lessons learned in our human history, and able to literally start anew, choose?
Is it a perfect book? Nope. Boyd is a better thinker than he is a writer. Though the book is short, it is often a tad repetitive, leading me to more than one "All RIGHT already, Prof. Boyd, I GET it!" moments. Is it an important book? I'll answer a question with some questions. Do you think man/womankind are doomed to eternal warfare? With much of humankind lacking the most basic of rights, should we shrug our shoulders until the Sun expands to cook Earth to a cinder (a few billion years from now)? If not, should we not get started on a viable alternative? How would YOU design a Constitution for a New Planet, if you were given the chance for humanity to redesign its basic operating agreement? Prof. Boyd wants to hear from you on the topic, and as he mentions more than once in 2048, if you write to him, he will surely answer you.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought Provoking Masterpiece, May 5, 2010
Dr. Boyd utilizes a historical past to lay the foundation for a seemingly extraordinary plan of action: creating an International Bill of Rights by the year 2048. Whether young or old, Dr. Boyd cites examples in 2048 that everyone can relate to, examples from Eleanor Roosevelt to driving a Prius and the affects each of those have on ourselves and others.
If you are at all interested in helping make a change to the current system of human rights, then this is the book for you! Dr. Boyd combines historical relevance, personal anecdotes, and expert opinions, making this book a joy to read. He, indeed, has supplied the future generations the tools to make global human rights a reality!
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