Madam, - It is disappointing to read such a confused article from the director of Amnesty Ireland (Opinion, August 11th).
Sean Love criticises government policy for being centrist, but in the next moment he jettisons the entire political spectrum. Left and right arguments "are redundant", he says. Only the language of rights has any meaning, we are told. Human rights are "not capitalist or communist, liberal or conservative, republican or monarchist, democratic or dictatorial".
Actually, human rights are closely related to liberal democracy, historically and conceptually. Like liberal democracy itself, rights are subject to competing interpretations of core consensus ideas such as liberty and equality. Rights do not transcend ideology.
The first substantive issue raised by Mr Love, that of relative poverty, is a case in point. Is relative poverty justifiable? Should it be? Mr Love implies that "the dilution of governmental control" would be a good thing. Why bother with voting at all? Amnesty should concentrate on universal implementation of the core rights on which there is large consensus. Relative poverty within a wealthy democracy should be far down on its agenda. - Yours, etc.,
DANIEL DUNNE, Meadow Park, Dublin 14.