RightsBase

human rights news & views

Bail out the world’s poor

Last month at the UN General Assembly, rock legend Bono lamented that for ten years he has begged the G8 for US$25 billion to relieve hunger and disease in Africa, with limited success.  Suddenly, the United States has $700 billion to spend on Wall Street.
Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz estimates that the US bailout package […]

The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day

Writes Nobel Peace Prize nominee, John Dear, SJ:

"On May 1, the Catholic Worker [movement] celebrates its 75th birthday, and to mark the occasion, Marquette University Press will publish Dorothy Day’s diaries, The Duty of Delight.
Meanwhile, a beautiful new DVD documentary, Don’t Call Me a Saint, has been released, offering rare interviews and footage of the […]

Intelligent approaches to poverty

Controversial Oxford ethicist Julian Savulescu cites evidence that intellect is an attribute that ‘makes life go well.’  IQ is negatively correlated with things like unemployment, divorce, poverty, jail and the need for welfare benefits.
If you could somehow improve the IQ of the whole population by as little as three points (or 3%, on average), […]