The Legal Culture that ceased to be the standard: from the Culture of Human Rights to Simple Pragmatism

Abstract

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a meta-story with which we have
lived to this day. It became a standard against which national [so-called domestic or municipal
sphere] rule of law was evaluated. For several decades they were imposed as a story to follow,
both by the state and by the so-called civil society. However, in the past decade (2010 to 2020)
there has been a valid questioning of the supremacy and relevance of human rights in the world
as a standard of humanity or humankind. A type of simple pragmatism has emerged in our
understanding of the application of human rights. Several instances have forced this discussion,
among others: the emergence of social networks as a dominant narrative of civil society on the
move. On the other hand, the emergence of what is known as lawfare, as an unjustified way of
destroying reputations at the expense of the criminal justice system. On the other hand, the
continuous use of the state apparatus to destroy lives, people, and states, in exchange for the
political whim of the state. These examples deserve to rethink the narrative of Human Rights and
raise its value and universal position in the third decade of the XXI century.