Whereas the concept of human development in post-modernity is supported by a post-modern philosophy of human rights, in modernity it is supported by a modern philosophy of human rights. The modern State has failed in the modern philosophy of human rights and the post-modern philosophy of human rights has laid aside a modern philosophy of human rights. This means that ethical foundationalism and emancipatory great narratives of human development have been discarded. We suggest that a pragmatist ethics of alterity and a post-modern policy of alterity may be a help in the elaboration of a post-modern philosophy of human rights.
Alterity; ethics; policy