The Right to Security: Barons vs. Commoners and the Living Tree of Canadian Law
John Humphrey, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Canadian Welfare State
John Humphrey's Vision: Fought for a positive conception of security, aligning with medieval rights to the commons, which led to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) protecting both negative and positive liberties.
Humphrey's Background: Born in New Brunswick in . Lost his father as an infant, his left arm was amputated at age six after a severe burn, and his mother died of cancer when he was . His socialist convictions stemmed from witnessing the suffering of others.
Radicalization by the Great Depression: Joined the League for Social Reconstruction (LSR), a socialist intellectual alliance, to campaign for a welfare state as a remedy to capitalist insecurity. The LSR's manifesto highlighted pervasive poverty and insecurity despite abundant natural resources.
Evolution to CCF: The LSR evolved into the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a left-wing party instrumental in Canada's adoption of universal Medicare.
Socialist Principle: For democratic socialists like Humphrey, material security and equality are fundamental enablers of human freedom.
Global Ambition: Humphrey aimed to expand the Canadian welfare state model to a global scale through the UDHR.
Initial Global Consensus: At the time of the UDHR's drafting, a broad consensus existed among most UN member states that generous social entitlements represented the future.
Cold War Backlash: This consensus was short-lived, fractured by the Cold War:
American Capitalism: Associated freedom with free markets and viewed any private sector constraint as