2010-11-29

What are human rights?

During rising and peak social mood, the definition of human rights was stretched as broadly as possible. Even minor attempts to curtail these rights were seen as racist or xenophobic. Now, the previously racist and xenophobic ideas are winning victory after victory. The latest comes from Switzerland:

Swiss voters approve harsher deportation plan
Swiss voters have approved a far-right initiative to automatically expel foreign residents convicted of serious crimes, according to poll results.

Swiss national broadcaster SF1 said 52.9 percent of voters backed the initiative in Sunday's referendum, a plan proposed by the nationalist Swiss People's Party (SVP).

A counter-proposal put forth by the Swiss government, which would make expulsion dependent on the length of a prison term rather on an arbitrary list of offenses, appears to have been rejected by most voters, according to preliminary results. Currently, decisions to expel foreigners convicted of serious crimes are made on a case-by-case basis.

The initiative, which would apply to foreigners convicted of crimes like murder, rape or trafficking in drugs or people, has been criticized by human rights groups and legal experts, who said it could disregard international anti-discrimination treaties and the free movement of peoples under European Union law.
Rapists, murders, drug and sex traffickers can now be deported from Switzerland following their conviction. However, note that the news says this was a victory for the far-right. Objectively, this seems like a moderate, albeit strict, law. What this shows is not the radicalism of the far-right, but how far left society shifted during the long period of positive social mood. The mainstream of political leadership went so far in the other direction, that the far-right is now the sensible center. Should social mood remain negative or decline, the far-right will win increasing large vote shares (eventually winning pluralities or outright majorities), in Switzerland and around the globe.

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