came into being before man began living in organized society (p. 54 ).
Gerard, a professor in the University of Chicago, writes that the
Declaration is an attempt to determine the proper relationship
between man and society and the "Rights" cannot be viewed as
unalterable for all times to come (p. 207-209).
XV. Search for Permanent ValuesSuch criticism has considerably dampened our enthusiasm for
the Declaration. The conviction that man possesses certain
inalienable rights does not seem to be justified. If men possessed a
common philosophy of life, they might be expected to respect the
"rights" which that philosophy supports. In the absence of such a
philosophy, there is no guarantee that the rights affirmed by one
school of thought would be accepted by other schools of thought.
The first condition to be fulfilled is an agreed system of values. Prof.
Joad makes this clear:
I suggested that the good life for the individual consists in the pursuit
of certain absolute values. If I am right, if, that is to say, it is by the
pursuit of values that a man develops his personality, we may add that
the object of the State is to establish those conditions in which the
individual can pursue absolute values and to encourage him in their
pursuit. We are thus enabled to establish a principle of progress in
society, which is also a standard of measurement whereby to assess the
relative worths of different societies.(33)
Our first task, therefore, is to determine the nature of absolute
values. We will then see that it is the duty of the state to provide
conditions in which men can freely pursue them. Human Rights will
then be brought into a significant relationship to the pursuit of
values and will not be regarded as arbitrary. This task has not yet
been undertaken. Let us see if Islam can help on this.
Political System 228